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Family photos remain an important way of preserving our legacy for future generations. As time capsules of sorts, they gift our descendants the chance to connect with their roots and feel a sense of belonging. It was no different for Native American communities. Family photos from the late 19th and early 20th century served to capture their rich history during a time of profound cultural change. We’ve found 50 such images, giving you a front-row look into Native American family life. These vintage photos capture multiple generations, often dressed up in a mix of native and western attire. Rare and fascinating, they reveal how Native Americans held onto family, culture, and traditions, even while facing enormous difficulties.
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#1
Samson Beaver, His Wife Leah, And Daughter Frances Louise, 1907
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#3
Apache Mother And Child, 1903
#4
Eskimo Mother And Child In Furs, Nome, Alaska, 1915
#5
Navajo Riders In Canyon De Chelly, 1904
#6
Mille Lacs Ojibwa Family, Minnesota, USA, 1920s
#8
Coeur D'alene Man, Phillip Wildshoe And Family, In His Chalmers Automobile, 1916
#9
Native Family At Their Home, Yukon Territory, Circa 1897
Babs Ishkabibble 3 months ago
I find it disturbing to see native people wearing European clothes.
#11
Makah Man And Woman With Canoe And Fish, Ca 1900
#12
Charging Thunder, Sioux & Wife, American Indians, 1900
HardBoiledBlonde 3 months ago
Native or Indigenous Americans not Indians; Indians are from India.
The family photo dates back to the early 19th century. During that time, photographs were taken mainly for documentation purposes. They were also quite expensive, putting them out of reach for most people. However, with technological advances such as the Brownie camera by Kodak in 1900, taking photos became easier and quicker. It also made photography more accessible to the masses.
#15
Apache Indian Grandmother Carrying Her Grandchild On Her Back And Three Others Sitting Nearby, Palomas Indian Reservation, 1903
#17
Group Of Sioux And Apache Indians, 1904
#19
American Indian Couple With Baby, 1904-1918
#21
Cabin Of Harriet Brooks, 1908
#22
A Comanche Mother And Child, 1896-1927
#24
Photograph Of Knik Chief Nikaly And His Family Near Anchorage, Alaska
#25
Indians Bannock, Idaho
Indigenous peoples of the Americas began engaging with photography in the 19th century. Some even owned and operated their own studios. Depicting their own communities with authenticity, intimacy, and cultural insight, early Native photographers' works were starkly different from those by non-Native photographers.
#28
Missionary Woman Visiting A Walapai Indian Family, Hackbury, Arizona, Ca.1900
#29
Oswald Smith Family, Warm Springs Chiricahua Apache (New Mexico), Ca. 1908
#30
A Ute Family Of A Wife, Husband, And Two Children In Traditional Dress, Between Circa 1870 And Circa 1875
#32
Hopi Mother And Daughter From A Wealthy Family At Mishongnovi (Mashongnavi), Arizona, Ca.1898
#33
Deaconess Bedell Visiting The Clay Family In The Everglades, 1945
Most photographs of Native Americans at the turn of the 20th century were taken by non-Native photographers. Although their photos are often criticized for romanticizing, stereotyping, or reinforcing colonial narratives, they still have immense historical and cultural significance. Today, these photos are an important record of Native American history that might have otherwise vanished with the passage of time.
#38
Henry Wilson & Wife, Mojave Apache, 1898
#39
Paloos/Colville Family Posing With Pony, Colville Indian Reservation, Washington, Ca. 1900-1910
Pyla 3 months ago
Colville res is adjacent to the Columbia river. When it was dammed to "reclaim" the water for farming it literally killed off the salmon run. There is an old film of one the last few runs (I think it took 5 years before the last generation tried to come back) trying to jump to get up an impossible obstacle. It is the most heart breaking image I have ever seen. Colville and other tribes were especially hit hard. A great book on the region and the river: River of the West: Stories from the Columbia by Robert Clark. ...........There is no ladder on the coulee, so effectively that run is dead. Now it's all fisheries in the outer areas and feeder rivers. It's a big issue in the eastern Palouse into Idaho because very (very) few salmon make it this far up river into the wild snake, clearwater and lochsha, etc.
#45
Kwakiutl Bridal Group, British Columbia, 1914
#46
Unidentified Indian Family
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R1MV4Superleggera 3 months ago
The people on these photos are what I call truly Americans! Missing are the pictures of the Canadian, Mexican, Guatemalan, Peruvian, Bolivian, just to name a few of those American Natives as well and they're plenty of different tribes/cultures etc over there in America! Now, for some blatantly ignorant individual in this particular country in America with some rare Orange skin condition, among some tiny, little hands and wears a sewer dead albino rat for hair and calls himself "American"..bad news! He's NOT! He's just another anchor-child in that particular country along his multiple ex-trophy wives and the one currently married to him who probably bought from one of his "friends" on the Internet
megabeth 3 months ago
Only if we wanted to slaughter them, destroy their way of life and steal literally everything. Many didn't even get the concept of owning land. They weren't wrong
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R1MV4Superleggera 3 months ago
The people on these photos are what I call truly Americans! Missing are the pictures of the Canadian, Mexican, Guatemalan, Peruvian, Bolivian, just to name a few of those American Natives as well and they're plenty of different tribes/cultures etc over there in America! Now, for some blatantly ignorant individual in this particular country in America with some rare Orange skin condition, among some tiny, little hands and wears a sewer dead albino rat for hair and calls himself "American"..bad news! He's NOT! He's just another anchor-child in that particular country along his multiple ex-trophy wives and the one currently married to him who probably bought from one of his "friends" on the Internet
megabeth 3 months ago
Only if we wanted to slaughter them, destroy their way of life and steal literally everything. Many didn't even get the concept of owning land. They weren't wrong
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