In this image, a Navajo woman sits on her porch with her right hand on her cheek, smiling for the camera. The photo was taken by Edward Curtis, a photographer whose mission was to capture images of Native Americans all over the United States. He began his career as a photographer of Native Americans in the mid-1890s around his home in Washington State. As an active outdoorsman, Curtis was well-known in the mountains of Washington; it was on Mt. Rainier where he ran into the government team of scientists (sent out to catalog the wildlife in the park) who would give him his start as a professional photographer. He became the official photographer on the Harriman Expedition to Alaska in 1899, and in 1900 he spent the summer observing and photographing the Blood, Blackfoot, and Algonquin tribes at the Sun Dance in Montana. Following this experience, Curtis went to Arizona to photograph the tribes on the reservations there. His collection, known as the North American Indian, contains over 2,000 photographs of traditional customs of more than eighty tribes, including the Navajo woman featured here. As you look over this image, pay particular attention to her manner of dress.

Investigate the source using the zoom and navigational tools in the Flash player and then answer the questions below.

1			What does this image reveal about Native Americans in the early twentieth century?
2			Describe the woman in the photograph. Is she young or old? Where is she? What is she doing?
3			Does this photograph seem realistic?
4			Why do you think the photographer positioned her in that manner? What does her posture and facial expression convey to the observer?