Indian Family Portrait

Though many viewers perceive this image as a typical portrait of a 19th-century Native American family, it's actually anything but. Despite their stoic facial expressions, Jack Edmo and his family were fond of being photographed, unlike other members of their tribe who weren't interested in such diversions. In fact, Jack's descendents and other Native Americans see a fun-loving, extroverted man who was an unusually social member of a large and active family. Many portraits like these were subsequently altered to reflect and perpetuate Native American stereotypes, but the ornate clothing the Edmos donned for this photograph prove that even in the frontier days, people often made strong fashion statements especially in front of the camera.