Editorial Reviews

One hundred years ago, Edward Sheriff Curtis began a thirty-year odyssey to photograph and document the lives and traditions of the Native peoples of North America. This monumental project was hailed by The New York Herald as "the most gigantic undertaking since the making of the King James edition of the Bible."

In this landmark volume, almost 200 of the finest examples of Cu rt is's photographs are reproduced with startling fidelity to his original prints. Produced to the very highest standards, Sacred Legacy presents Curtis's work without compromise for the first time in the modern era. Taken together, these profound images constitute no less than the core and essence of his life's work. Until now, virtually none of Curtis's photographs have been reproduced in a manner that captures the clarity and richness of his original master prints. In Sacred Legacy, his greatest images are reproduced from the finest source materials available -- a significant number from breathtaking platinum, gold, and silver prints. All have been carefully selected for pub lication and for an accompanying international exhibition by Curtis authority Christopher Cardozo.

In an effort to bring a new understanding to Curtis's monumental work, Sacred Legacy was developed according to the organizing principles set forth by the great photographer himself. Following the path la id out in his 20 volume magnum opus, The North American Indian, geographic regions are presented separately and individual tribes within each region are depicted and described. Interspersed between these sections are compelling portrayals of those aspects of life common to all tribes, among them spirituality. ceremony, arts, and the activities of daily life.

With The North American Indian, Curtis achieved the impossible: an extraordinary 20 -volume set of handmade books composed of nearly 4,000 pages of text and 2,200 images presenting more than 80 of North America's Native nations. Luminous, iconic, and profoundly revealing, the pictures that form the heart of the original project are reproduced here in Sacred Legacy. These extraordinary photographs had an immense impact on the national imagination and continue to shape the way we see Native life and culture.

Sacred Legacy is a fitting testament to the profound beauty, meaning, and complexity of Indian life and to Edward S. Curtis -- a man whose wisdom, passion, and strength drove him to devote thirty years to capturing the nobility and pride of the Native peoples of North America. The photographs in this brilliant volume represent the most important presentation of Curtis's work since the publication of the first volume of Me North American Indian nearly a century ago.

Customer Reviews

Absolutely Beautiful, 2007-08-21
by R. J. Kirk (Simnasho, OR USA)

I absolutely love this book, the photagraphs are stunning. As a Native American of the Plateau Tribes, I love to browse through the photographs and see the images of my ancestors. My family consists of many different tribal Nations, from Coastal to Plateau and Plains, so it is nice to see the faces and the land as well as the clothing during the time these images were taken.

perhaps a generation too late, 2007-06-20
by W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3)

The many photographs have a hazy sepia tinge that somehow adds to the distancing from us, the present day readers. Curtis did an amazing and sympathetic photographic survey of native Americans in the early 20th century. His collection epitomises the changing view of natives, to the broader American society. No longer were they portrayed as bloodthirsty savages. Instead, Curtis took care to show many natives in peaceful surroundings. Often, getting on with everyday chores. A distinguishing aspect is that few of the photos show them brandishing weapons.

Keep in mind that even by the earliest photos, there were very few "wild" natives left in the US. Years earlier, they had been defeated by the US army, and the survivors often relegated to reservations. So what the photos show are domesticated peoples. Nomadic no longer, even if their forebears had been so just a generation ago.

In this sense, Curtis was a generation too late. Had he been a contemporary of Matthew Brady, he might have given us a visual legacy of peoples that were more unassimilated. Though of course he would have risked real injury to himself, in doing so. Still, we should not complain. Curtis did well with what he had, in the era he inhabited.

"Take a good look. We're not going to see this kind of thing much longer. It already belongs to the past". , 2005-07-27
by Jana L. Perskie (New York, NY USA)

Edward Sheriff Curtis dedicated his life's work to documenting the customs and lifeways of the Native American peoples of North America. This extraordinary book includes some of the best photographic examples from Curtis' twenty volume masterpiece, "The North American Indian," one of the most significant representations of traditional indigenous culture ever produced.

Curtis was one of two official photographers for the 1899 Harriman expedition to Alaska. On his return, he stopped in northern Montana, accompanied by George Bird Grinell, editor of Forest and Stream. There he witnesses the deeply sacred Sundance of the Piegan and Blackfoot tribes, a sight which transformed his life. Grinell said to him at that time, "Take a good look. We're not going to see this kind of thing much longer. It already belongs to the past". It became clear to him then, that he was to record, with pen and camera, the life of the North American Indian. By the time the last volume appeared in 1930, little remained of the ancient traditions of the peoples he photographed.

Beginning in 1900 and continuing over the next thirty years, Edward S. Curtis, sometimes called the "Shadow Catcher" by tribes' people, took over 40,000 photographs and recorded ethnographic information from over eighty American Indian tribal groups, ranging from the Eskimo or Inuit people in the North to the Hopi people of the Southwest. In the end, the work comprised twenty textual volumes and twenty portfolios with over 2,000 illustrations.

"Sacred Legacy: Edward S Curtis And The North American Indian" was compiled and published to honor the 100th anniversary of Curtis's project to photograph the North America's indigenous peoples, and is a sacred legacy. This impressive volume beautifully reproduces in luminous images 200 of Curtis's greatest photographs from the finest source materials available - a significant number from platinum, gold and silver prints. Christopher Cardozo, an authority on Curtis, carefully selected the photographs for publication and for the accompanying exhibition. Writers who contribute their work here include: Joseph D. Horse Capture, N. Scott Momaday, and Anne Makepeace.

The photographs are organized by tribes and culture areas, encompassing the Great Plains, California, the Southwest, Plateau Region and Woodlands, Pacific Northwest, and Alaska. These reproductions represent an artistic masterpiece worthy of any collection. This volume is a fitting tribute to Curtis's genius.

"The passing of every man and woman means the passing of some tradition, some knowledge of sacred rights possessed by no other." Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952)
JANA

This book is a treasure, 2001-04-06

The works of Edward S. Curtis are monumental and beautiful. This book reproduces them with stunning clarity capturing the luminescence of his orotones remarkably well. The text serves to convey the rich meaning behind the photographs. For anyone interested in photography, art, or the story of the Native Americans, this is a treasure not to be missed.