Arikara Girl 1908

Edward S. Curtis made this photogravure, *Arikara Girl*, as part of his ambitious project to document Native American tribes in the early 20th century. The image presents a profile view of a young woman, her gaze directed off to the right, adorned in traditional attire. It comes from a time of immense social change and government policy which aimed to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream culture, often suppressing their languages, customs, and spiritual practices. Curtis's work, while intending to preserve a record of these cultures, has been critiqued for romanticizing and, at times, misrepresenting Native American life. Analyzing Curtis's photographs demands an understanding of the complex historical, social, and political forces at play during this period. We must turn to historical documents, oral histories, and the perspectives of Native American communities themselves to fully understand the implications of this image, and the impact of Curtis’s project on those he sought to document.