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Summary
Summary
In Red Cloud: Photographs of a Lakota Chief, Red Cloud (1821-1909) , the famous Lakota leader, comes to life through a series of extraordinary photographs that trace his career in stunning detail. Arguably the most photographed Native American of the nineteenth century, Red Cloud posed before the camera some fifty times and appears in over one hundred photographs, rivaling the number taken of Abraham Lincoln. This is the first time that the majority of these photographs have been gathered together. These images reveal much about Red Cloud--from the height of his position as a tribal leader in the 1870s through his years as an effective and controversial statesman to his old age and death in the early twentieth century. Frank H. Goodyear III provides historical, biographical, and critical commentary that both illuminates the images and interrogates the motivations and attitudes of Red Cloud and his photographers. What does the succession of photographs reveal about the changing circumstances of Red Cloud's life and those who photographed him? Why were photographers and the American public fascinated with the Lakota leader? Why did he choose to face the camera so many times? Goodyear provides a fully drawn portrait of the renowned Lakota leader and his relationships with outsiders, particularly those who continually attempted to capture his likeness with a camera.
Author Notes
Frank H. Goodyear III is the assistant curator of photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.
Reviews (3)
Booklist Review
Red Cloud (1821-1909) was the most photographed Native American of the nineteenth century. Here are 81 black-and-white photographs, along with a few related drawings. (An appendix lists the 47 photographs that are not reproduced here.) Some of the most famous American photographers of that era worked with Red Cloud, including Mathew Brady, Edward Curtis, Alexander Gardner, and Charles Bell. Goodyear, the assistant curator of photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, informs us in his concise and informative introduction that Red Cloud's decision to face the camera as often as he did was motivated by his interest in\b serving as a mediator between the Oglala Indians and the federal government, using these occasions to speak to both the dominant culture and his own people. These portraits can be read as semi-autobiographical texts that reveal the hopes and anxieties Red Cloud confronted during this transitional moment in Lakota history. Goodyear's text offers readers a biographical and historical analysis of Red Cloud and his world. --George Cohen Copyright 2003 Booklist
Choice Review
Goodyear, assistant curator of photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, tells the life story of Lakota Indian chief Red Cloud (1821-1909) using 81 black-and-white photographs. He emphasizes Red Cloud's strong personal regard for photographic images and his use of them to record his efforts as a mediator between the Oglala Lakota and the federal government. Goodyear records the dates, places, names of photographers, circumstances under which the photos were taken, and the identity, when known, of the other people in the pictures. Goodyear places Red Cloud's changing appearance from traditional Lakota to contemporary Euro-American attire and hair style and back again in the context of the shifting fortunes of the Indian tribe and the chief's successive, often unsuccessful, efforts to change the course of US Indian policy. Goodyear's book supplements existing biographies of Red Cloud, but cannot substitute for them. Readers will need to turn elsewhere for an understanding of Lakota governance, the meaning of dance rituals, and the comparative standing of Red Cloud among other Lakota chiefs and those of other Indian tribes. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Appropriate for specialized readers with a background in Indian history; upper-division undergraduates and above. M. Greenwald University of Pittsburgh
Library Journal Review
The common thinking is that American Indians shunned having their pictures taken for fear that the camera would "steal their souls" or some similar concern. Goodyear, a curator of photographs at the Smithsonian, has crafted a remarkable compendium that, among other things, challenges such assumptions. Goodyear reproduces almost 100 different photographs of Red Cloud (1821-1909), the remarkable Lakota (Sioux) leader of the 19th century and perhaps the most photographed Indian leader of his time. The sheer number of well-presented images here challenges the stereotype of Indian reluctance to be captured on film. In describing the setting of the photographs, the photographers who took them, and their attitude toward their subject, Goodyear shows that for Red Cloud the desire to communicate across barriers of culture and language encouraged him to permit photographs. Goodyear writes well, clearly documents his sources, and includes a good bibliography and notes section. The book's prize feature is, however, its cumulative portrait of a remarkable man and his world. For collections that already have the standard biographies, like Robert Larson's recent Red Cloud: Warrior-Statesman of the Lakota Sioux, this is a recommended companion. It is also a worthy title for photographic and history collections.-Charlie Cowling, SUNY at Brockport Lib. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Acknowledgments | p. vii |
| Map: The West of Red Cloud | p. x |
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| Chapter 1 First Exposure, 1870-1877 | p. 17 |
| Chapter 2 The Path of Diplomacy, 1877-1880 | p. 41 |
| Chapter 3 Playing the American, 1881-1889 | p. 59 |
| Chapter 4 Wounded Knee and Its Aftermath, 1889-1897 | p. 93 |
| Chapter 5 The Icon, 1898-1909 | p. 123 |
| Epilogue | p. 185 |
| Appendix | p. 191 |
| Notes | p. 195 |
| Selected Bibliography | p. 205 |
| Index | p. 209 |
