Publisher’s Note
"It's such a big dream, I can't see it all.” —Edward Curtis, 1900 Edward Curtis had a life like no other human being. Born in 1868 in Wisconsin, he then spent twelve years in rural Minnesota, before moving to the Pacific Northwest in 1887. He grew up in abject poverty and was educated only to the sixth grade, yet despite these humble beginnings, he created a magnificent dream and pursued it at all costs. He became the Pacific Northwest’s most successful studio photographer by the time he was thirty. Curtis began his massive undertaking of fulfilling his life’s mission in 1900. By then, he had become so impassioned by the possibility of creating a definitive record of all tribal groups west of the Mississippi whose culture was still relatively intact, he began to sacrifice his lucrative career to follow his emerging dream. His evolving vision, profound passion and extraordinary perseverance led to The North American Indian. A century later, a set of these rare books is the most valuable and perhaps the most iconic set of books made in America. It also stands as possibly the most ambitious venture in North American publishing history. Curtis could not have achieved this by himself. By 1906, he received the support of one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the world, J. P. Morgan, and was also championed by another larger-than-life figure, Teddy Roosevelt. However, even with that support, Curtis could not have accomplished all he did without the active participation of approximately ten thousand Native people, who co-created this project with Curtis. Without them, he could never have achieved what he did, nor created photographs with such power, intimacy and authenticity. Throughout the twenty-four year history of the publishing project, Curtis was never able to draw a salary and, ultimately, lost his family, his financial security and his health to complete his magnum opus, The North American Indian. Each handmade Set comprises thousands of pages of text and transcriptions of language and music, 2,234 original photographic prints, and over two and one half million words of rich and detailed ethnographic information. Until recently, little of this was readily available to the public at large. Having sent exhibitions to over forty countries, lectured internationally, and created nine monographs on Curtis, I felt strongly the missing piece was broader access to his magnum opus in the form of a high-quality republication. I still vividly remember seeing his images of Native Americans for the first time in 1973 upon returning from many months of living with an isolated indigenous tribe in the high mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. A mere day and a half later, I came upon some vintage Curtis prints for sale. After much soulsearching, I bought my first Curtis photographs. The purchase required going into debt for the first time in my life. I’ve often wondered how profoundly different my life would have been, had I decided differently. Having had the great good fortune to be involved with Edward Curtis' magnificent body of work for over four decades, I have continuously collected, exhibited, published, and bought and sold Curtis’ photographs. I have written extensively about his work and have spoken directly with thousands of individuals. All this activity has informed a deepened understanding of Curtis’ body of work and his aesthetic, which has been invaluable for our Republication project.
the
north ameri can indian being a series of volumes picturing and describing
the indians of the united states and alaska written, illustrated, and published by
edward s. curtis edited by
frederick webb hodge foreword by
theodore roosevelt field research conducted under the patronage of
j. pierpont morgan
in twenty volumes this, the first volume, published in the year nineteen hundred and seven
From Copyright Photograph 1906 by E.S. Curtis
The Pool — APAche
contents of volume one Alphabet used in Recording Indian Terms Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . General Introduction . . . . . . . . Introduction to Volume One . . . . .
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page
vi vii xi xiii xix
THE APACHE Historical Sketch . . . . . Homeland and Life . . . . Mythology Creation Myth . . . . . Medicine and Medicine-men The Messiah Craze . . . Puberty Rite . . . . . Dance of the Gods . . .
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THE JICARILLAS Home and General Customs Mythology Creation Myth . . . . . Miracle Performers . . . Origin of Fire . . . . .
THE NAVAHO Home Life, Arts, and Beliefs . . History . . . . . . . . . . . Mythology Creation Myth . . . . . . . Miracle Performers . . . . . Legend of the Happiness Chant Legend of the Night Chant . . Ceremonies The Night Chant . . . . . . Maturity Ceremony . . . . . Marriage . . . . . . . . .
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I LLUSTRATIONS The Pool — Apache . . . . Nayenfzgan } — Navaho . . White River — Apache . . By the Sycamore — Apache The Fire Drill — Apache . A Noonday Halt — Navaho Apache Camp . . . . . . . Typical Apache . . . . . . . Tenokai — Apache . . . . . At the Ford — Apache . . . The Bathing Pool — Apache Alch}sé — Apache . . . . . Mescal Hills — Apache . . Primitive Apache Home . . Cutting Mescal — Apache . Mescal — Apache . . . . . Filling the Pit — Apache . The Covered Pit — Apache Apache Still Life . . . . . . Among the Oaks — Apache Mescal Camp — Apache . . Sacred Buckskin — Apache Apache Girl . . . . . . . . The Ford — Apache . . . . Apache Medicine-man . . . Maternity Belt — Apache .
Frontispiece Facing page x . . . . . . xii . . . . . . xiv . . . . . . xvi . . . . . . xviii . . . . . . xx . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . 8 . . . . . . 10 . . . . . . 12 . . . . . . 14 . . . . . . 16 . . . . . . 18 . . . . . . 20 . . . . . . 22 . . . . . . 24 . . . . . . 26 . . . . . . 28 . . . . . . 31 . . . . . . 32 . . . . . . 34 . . . . . . 36 . . . . . . 38
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From Copyright Photograph 1904 by E.S. Curtis
Nay�NĔzgaNĬ — Navaho
F OR E WOR D In Mr. Curtis we have both an artist and a trained observer, whose pictures are pictures, not merely photographs; whose work has far more than mere accuracy, because it is truthful. All serious students are to be congratulated because he is putting his work in permanent form; for our generation offers the last chance for doing what Mr. Curtis has done. The Indian as he has hitherto been is on the point of passing away. His life has been lived under conditions thru which our own race past so many ages ago that not a vestige of their memory remains. It would be a veritable calamity if a vivid and truthful record of these conditions were not kept. No one man alone could preserve such a record in complete form. Others have worked in the past, and are working in the present, to preserve parts of the record; but Mr. Curtis, because of the singular combination of qualities with which he has been blest, and because of his extraordinary success in making and using his opportunities, has been able to do what no other man ever has done; what, as far as we can see, no other man could do. He is an artist who works out of doors and not in the closet. He is a close observer, whose qualities of mind and body fit him to make his observations out in the field, surrounded by the wild life he commemorates. He has lived on intimate terms with many different tribes of the mountains and the plains. He knows them as they hunt, as they travel, as they go about their various avocations on the march and in the camp. He knows their medicine men and sorcerers, their chiefs and warriors, their young men and maidens. He has not only seen their vigorous outward existence, but has caught glimpses, such as few white men ever catch, into that strange spiritual and mental life of theirs; from whose innermost recesses all white men are forever barred. Mr. Curtis in publishing this book is rendering a real and great service; a service not only to our own people, but to the world of scholarship everywhere. THEODORE ROOSEVELT October 1 st, 1906.
the north american indian
xvii
collected at once or the opportunity will be lost for all time. It is this need that has inspired the present task. In treating the various tribes it has been deemed advisable that a geographic rather than an ethnologic grouping be presented, but without losing sight of tribal relationships, however remote the cognate tribes may be one from another. To simplify the study and to afford ready reference to the salient points respecting the several tribes, a summary of the information pertaining to each is given in the appendices. In the spelling of the native terms throughout the text, as well as in the brief vocabularies appended to each volume, the simplest form possible, consistent with approximate accuracy, has been adopted. No attempt has been made to differentiate sounds so much alike that the average student fails to discern the distinction, for the words, where recorded, are designed for the general reader rather than the philologist, and it has been the endeavor to encourage their pronunciation rather than to make them repellent by inverted and other arbitrary characters. I take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation to those who have so generously lent encouragement during these years of my labor, from the humblest dwellers in frontier cabins to the captains of industry in our great commercial centres, and from the representatives of the most modest institutions of learning to those whose fame is worldwide. Without this encouragement the work could not have been accomplished. When the last opportunity for study of the living tribes shall have passed with the Indians themselves, and the day cannot be far off, my generous friends may then feel that they have aided in a work the results of which, let it be hoped, will grow more valuable as time goes on.
From Copyright Photograph 1904 by E.S. Curtis
A JicARillA
From Copyright Photograph 1907 by E.S. Curtis
P ĬK�HODĬKLÁD
— NAvAho *
APPENDIX TRIBAL SUMMARY THE APACHE Language — Athapascan. Population — Fort Apache Agency, Arizona ( White Mountain Apache), 2,072. San Carlos Agency: San Carlos Apache, 1,066; Tonto Apache, 554; Coyoteros, 525. Tonto Apache on Beaver Creek, 103. Total Apache of Arizona (not including the so-called Mohave Apache and Yuma Apache), 4,320. Mescaleros in New Mexico, 460. Jicarillas in New Mexico, 784. Chiricahua Apache at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, 298. Kiowa Apache in Oklahoma, 155. Grand total of Apache tribes, 6,017. Dress — The primitive dress of the men was deerskin shirt (fpwntlés}s), leggings (}skletl}kai), and moccasins (fpunkf). They were never without the loin-cloth, the one absolutely necessary feature of Indian dress. A deerskin cap (cha), with attractive symbolic ornamentation, was worn; but for the greater part the headgear consisted of a band braided from the long leaves of the yucca, which they placed rather low on the head to keep the hair from the eyes. The dress of the Apache women consisted of a short deerskin skirt, high boot-legged moccasins, and a loose waist which extended to the hips and was worn outside the skirt. Both skirt and waist were ornamented with deerskin fringe and latterly with metal pendants. The men’s hair always hangs loose; it is never braided. At time of mourning the hair is cut horizontally just above the shoulder line. Apache matrons, like the men, do not braid the hair, but let it hang loosely over the shoulders. The maidens tie their hair in a low long knot at the back of the head, to which is fastened a decorated deerskin ornament, denoting maidenhood. So arranged it is called p}ts}vesti, and the wrapping, ts}ge. Dwellings — The Apache dwelling consists of a dome-shaped frame of cottonwood or other poles, thatched with grass. Average diameter at the base, twelve feet. The house itself they term kówa; the grass thatch, pi n. Bear-grass, or what the Spanish term palmillo, is used exclusively in thatching. Since the institution of the Messiah religion the houses are built rather elongate in form, with a doorway in each end, and all the houses of the village are arranged in long rows. Doorways are termed dáitin, or chogúnt}, interchangeably. Summer houses are generally built at a distance from the winter houses, in fact wherever the Apache would have occasion to stop, and are little more than brush shelters to afford temporary shade. Primitive Foods — No tribe is more capable of living on the natural products of their pristine haunts than the Apache. Whether allowed to live peacefully in the river valleys or driven in war to seek protection of impenetrable mountains, nature provided amply for their support; for practically all the flora and fauna indigenous to the Southwest are considered food by the Apache. (See the list in the vocabulary.)
From Copyright Photograph 1904 by E.S. Curtis
H aschóga N
— NAvAho *
the
north ameri can indian being a series of volumes picturing and describing
the indians of the united states and alaska written, illustrated, and published by
edward s. curtis edited by
frederick webb hodge foreword by
theodore roosevelt field research conducted under the patronage of
j. pierpont morgan
in twenty volumes this, the third volume, published in the year nineteen hundred and eight
From Copyright Photograph 1908 by E.S. Curtis
p i pe -b ag S *
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Scale a.ooo or
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I
CUSTER BATTLE-FIELD This map is a reproduction of a U.S. Geological Survey map made in 1891 by Mr. R. B. Marshall. The notation, "Custer's route over this ground unknown," appears on the map as drawn by him. The heavy line beginning at 1, on Reno creek, has been added by the author, and it traces, he believes, the route followed by Custer. l is the point where Custer and Reno separated; 2 where Custer was seen by Reno's men to come to the crest of the hill and wave a salutation; 3 where Custer came close to the river, presumably planning to ford; 4 where the Indians made their first attack on Custer. Here was the beginning of his battle, and here began his retreat, the course of which is indicated by the line from 4 to the "fence." The burying squad found bodies within a hundred yards of this point where the attack was made, and many Sioux participants assert that the first troopers killed were three who fell a few yards from here. It was at 4 also that the Crow scouts left Custer, going back on his trail to join Reno's command. The position and size of the circular Indian encampment are indicated by the A-signs, which have been added by the author.
appendix
141
and the favorite horse was killed to carry the spirit to the south. This form of burial continued until about 1880. Warriors killed in battle were sometimes prepared for burial and left in a tipi near the scene of the conflict. After-world — As to the home of spirits the Teton say little except that it is in the south. Names for Indian Tribes — English Apache Apsaroke, or Crows Arapaho Arikara Assiniboin Atsina, or Gros Ventres Blackfeet
Teton n
Sihá-sapa
Comanche Flatheads Hidatsa Kiowa Mandan Navaho Nez Percés Omaha Pawnee Piegan Pueblos Shoshoni
Ka hí-wichá[a n
Mahpíya-to Padáni Hóhe . Hahá-ton Sihá-sapa Wé-wichá[a
Bloods Cheyenne Chippewa
Assiniboin
Yanktonai
Chí chaki ze Ka nZí-wichá[a (Raven Man) Mahpíya-to 1 Paláni Hóhe Shkútani n
Shahíyela . Hahá-ton wan (Water-fall village) Sintéhwla-wichá[a (Rattlesnake Man) Natá-bwlecha (Oval Head) . Hewáktokta Wíta-pahátu (Island Hill) Miwátani Shiná-gwlegwleZa (Striped Blanket) PóZe-hwlóka Omáha Schíli 3 IZúZa-otila (Rock Dwellers) Pe]í-wokeyotila (Grassthatch Dwellers)
Shahíyana Chán-haha-ton (Live In Woods At The Falls) Tahín-wichá[a (Hair Man) Tá-bwdaska . Hewáktokta Miwátani PóZf-hwdókf Schídi Píkan
Ka hí-toka (Raven Enemy) Mahpíya-to Paláni 2 Waxópana . n Hahá-to wan (Waterfall Village) Sihá-sapa (Black Foot) Wé-wichá[ta (Blood Man) Shaihíyana Inté-tokiye (Paint Face) n
Pá-mdaska (Flat . Head) Hewáktukta Mayátana Póho-hwdoke (Nose Hole) Pikána
Shú n[u n-wichá[a 4
Mahpíya-to, Blue Cloud, in allusion to the blue earrings worn by this tribe. Waxópana, Paddlers: the name by which the Assiniboin at Fort Peck reservation call themselves. The Canadian Assiniboin, commonly known as Stonies, they call Waxópahnato nwa n. 3 Schíli: a Sioux pronunciation of the Caddoan Skidi, a Pawnee band. 4 Shu n[u n-wichá[a: the first part of the word is doubtless an attempt to say Shoshoní. 1 2
appendix
143
6/8 time they will be eighth notes; in common time, quarter notes; or if the melody move in eighths, the notes also will be eighths. On the last note of a song the voice falls, either sinking slowly or dropping abruptly. The songs are here given in the actual pitch at which they were sung. International pitch is used. When a number of persons sing together, as at a dance, a higher key is generally chosen. Often the song is taken at so acute a pitch that the first part will be sung in a high falsetto. This, combined with the throaty tones, sometimes produces to a foreign ear the effect of the howling of coyotes rather than of singing. In reading these songs, when eighth or sixteenth notes are connected with slurs, it is to be understood that the longer note of which they are parts is articulated only very slightly; absence of slurs indicates a somewhat more distinct articulation. Eighths or sixteenths written separately are used only where there are actual words, or when in the articulation of a longer note there is a sharp break in the tone. The dropping of the voice on the final note is indicated by a slanting line, thus, \ , longer or shorter as the note is uttered by the singer. In establishing the bar lines, the laws of melody and accent have been carefully followed. In many cases it would have been possible to divide the entire song into measures of equal length, but this would have been purely mechanical and hence would have obscured the musical sense of the song. Of harmony, as we understand it, the plains tribes have no conception, their songs being sung in unison, except when the women chant an accompaniment to the air of the men, and only here and there are the voices in harmony. The plains Indian is apt to finish his song, even if a love song, with two or three yells. Old men say that in former times many of the dance songs had no words, having been sung with only meaningless syllables. The earnest student will find in these songs a wealth of emotion and musical significance with which they will hardly be credited at first reading. E. F.
TWO TORTURE SONGS OF LAKOTA SUN DANCE Moderato.
Drum.
w i nTe r -C ou nT
f i rST p e riod
the
north ameri can indian being a series of volumes picturing and describing
the indians of the united states and alaska written, illustrated, and published by
edward s. curtis edited by
frederick webb hodge foreword by
theodore roosevelt field research conducted under the patronage of
j. pierpont morgan
in twenty volumes this, the eighth volume, published in the year nineteen hundred and eleven
From Copyright Photograph 1903 by E.S. Curtis
Joseph — Nez Percé
55
the nez percés
Sun as they move toward the land. Along the shore the feathers that already lie there dry seem to feel the effect of the light also, and come to life. The harder the sea rolls, the farther these feathers are carried up on the land. It seems that we feel the cold wetness these feathers have felt, and the gladness they now feel when the warm Sun comes and dries them.” M. M.
132
3
dim.
medicine-song of the pelican *Pina-tiyamí-hiwitpa una; 1 Pina-tiyamí-hiwitpa una; Pina-tiyamí-hiwitpa una; Pina-tiyamí-hiwitpa una; Pina-tiyamí-hiwitpa una; Ôyayb *tbuybwiyaks, Annbhuya, annbhuya-huyb. 1 Pina means “taking each other”; tiyamí is probably connected with taiyám, “summer.” The meaning of the remainder of the word, and consequently of the whole, is not known. The reference is probably to the fact that the birds in company are seeking the land where it is summer. The significance of una is unknown.
From Copyright Photograph 1910 by E.S. Curtis
Wishham Beadwork
the
north ameri can indian being a series of volumes picturing and describing
the indians of the united states, the dominion of canada, and alaska written, illustrated, and published by
edward s. curtis edited by
frederick webb hodge foreword by
theodore roosevelt field research conducted under the patronage of
j. pierpont morgan
in twenty volumes this, the twelfth volume, published in the year nineteen hundred and twenty-two
From Copyright Photograph 1906 by E.S. Curtis
On a Housetop — Walpi
From Copyright Photograph 1921 by E.S. Curtis
Pulíini and Köyáme — Walpi
From Copyright Photograph 1921 by E.S. Curtis
Awaiting the Return of the Snake Racers
Colophon Edward Curtis published The North American Indian between 1907 and 1930. All volumes of The Complete Reference Edition replicate the layout of original Curtis Volumes. All Text Volume images were sourced from vintage, original photogravures from the Frederick Webb Hodge Set. The Hodge Set is one of the most valuable and important Curtis Sets in existence; this is the first time the Hodge Set has been used for reproduction purposes. The entire Set has been conserved and de-acidified, resulting in exceptionally beautiful files and reproductions. The Hodge Set photogravures were digitally captured with a state-of-theart setup, utilizing a Nikon D800, specially constructed book cradles to protect the binding of the original Volumes, and a professional lighting solution. The digital files were processed and optimized using Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. The text for the Volumes was converted to digital type from original page scans using Adobe Acrobat XI software. Using the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) component of Adobe Acrobat software, the text was saved to a Microsoft Word document, before importing into Adobe InDesign software for text formatting and page design. In the process, all raster type was converted to vector type formatting for the sharpest and most legible text. The text is set in Adobe Caslon and Caslon 540. Image titles are set in Boton Light. Copyright and date information is Formal Script. Outside spine title is set in Garamond. All books are printed and bound at BookMobile in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Volumes and Portfolio Volumes are printed on high quality, archival, acid-free Finch Opaque paper. The printed and laminated covers on boards for Volumes and Portfolios are photographic reproductions of the original leather and buckram covers.
Copyright Š 2017 for The Complete Reference Edition tm by Christopher Cardozo Fine Art. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Christopher Cardozo Fine Art. ISBN for The Complete Reference Edition tm Set: 978-1-942076-27-8 ISBN for Text Volume I of The Complete Reference Edition tm : 978-1-942076-29-2 This is Volume I of The Complete Reference Edition tm , comprising all text and images from Edward Curtis’ original Volume I, published in 1907.