Two Strike 1907

This is Edward S. Curtis’s photograph, *Two Strike*. Curtis was part of a generation gripped by the myth of the ‘vanishing race,’ a belief that Native American culture was in terminal decline. Curtis set out to document what he imagined was a pristine, pre-contact existence, motivated by a desire to preserve an idealized vision of Native American life. His epic project, *The North American Indian*, was a multi-volume work that combined photography with anthropological writing. Here, the emotional depth of Curtis’s portraiture is undeniable. Two Strike’s face tells a story of endurance and resistance. But, it is important to remember that Curtis was also a product of his time, imposing his own romantic vision onto his subjects. He often staged his photographs, asking his sitters to wear specific clothing or enact certain activities. Two Strike, a leader of the Brulé Lakota, looks away, a gesture that can be read as defiance or a quiet acknowledgement of the changes overtaking his world. Curtis’s photographs offer a window into a complex history, one that demands we confront both its beauty and its troubling legacy.