Native American Photographs
While the majority of Private Howard's surviving images can best be described as outdoor views, including landscapes, he did produce a small number of photographs of Native Americans. All of his surviving Indian photographs were taken outdoors, as opposed to within a studio setting. His earliest is an image of an unidentified Indian, presumably Shoshone, wrapped in a blanket outside Judge Carter's post trader store at Fort Bridger, cirica. 1875–77.
The majority of his Native American views are from the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail Agencies, located in northwestern Nebraska, taken in October 1877 while he was part of the Stanton Expedition. He produced a number of views of Indian camps as well as images of prominent Lakota leaders outside their lodge. He photographed Spotted Tail, White Thunder and Two Strike, all prominent Brule headmen. Of the Minneconjou and Sans Arc leaders who had recently surrendered at the Spotted Tail Agency, he was able to photograph Touch the Clouds, Red Bear and Roman Nose. The famed Oglala war leader Crazy Horse had been killed three weeks prior to Private Howard's visit, but the photographer did capture at least two images of Crazy Horse's scaffold grave, located on a bluff overlooking Camp Sheridan.
On his printed list of available views pasted on the back of his stereocards (circa. 1878), Howard advertised that he also had "Numerous Pictures 'Card Size' of Indians of Different Tribes." Many of these may actually be reprints of the work of other photographers.
Read more about this topic: Charles Howard (photographer)
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