Native American Masks: Stunning Portraits From The Early 20th Century

By John Kuroski

Published January 4, 2017

Updated November 7, 2018

Whether gorgeous of terrifying, these Native American masks reveal a group of cultures on the verge of disappearing forever.

Picture Of Native American Winter Ceremony

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Navajo man, half-length, seated, facing front, wearing a ceremonial mask with feathers and with fir or spruce branches forming a wreath around the shoulders, 1904.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Person wearing Mask of Tsunukwalahl, a mythical being, used during the Winter Dance, 1914.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Navajo man wearing mask of Ganaskidi, god of harvests, plenty, and of mists, 1905.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Koskimo person wearing full-body fur garment, oversized gloves and mask of Hami ("dangerous thing") during the numhlim ceremony, 1914.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Tonenili-Navajo, dressed in spruce branches, 1904-1905.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Kwakiutl person wearing a mask of the mythical creature Pgwis (man of the sea), 1914.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Navajo man wearing leather mask with basket cap, fur ruff, nude torso painted with white lines, 1904-1905.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Ceremonial mask worn by a dancer portraying the hunter in Bella Bella mythology who killed the giant man-eating octopus. The dance was performed during Tluwulahu, a four-day ceremony prior to the Winter Dance, 1914.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Navajo man wearing dark mask, fur ruff, paint on torso, 1904-1905.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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A Navajo man, full-length, in ceremonial dress including mask and body paint, 1904.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Dancer wearing raven mask with coat of cormorant skins during the numhlin ceremony, 1914.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Dancer wearing oversize mask, three rings of feathers in front of clothing, holding a rattle, 1913.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Navajo man bedecked in hemlock boughs and mask of a clown associated with the mischievous rain god Tonenili, "Water Sprinkler," 1905.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Kwakiutl person wearing an oversize mask and hands representing a forest spirit, Nuhlimkilaka ("bringer of confusion"), 1914.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Man dressed in a full-body bear costume. The bear had the duty of guarding the dance house, 1914.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Navajo man wearing dark leather mask, fur ruff, cloth girdle, silver concho belt and necklaces, 1904-1905.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Dancer representing Paqusilahl ("man of the ground embodiment"), wearing a mask and shirt covered with hemlock boughs, representing paqus, a wild man of the woods, 1914.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Navajo man wearing mask of Haschebaad, a benevolent female deity, 1905.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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During the winter ceremony, Kwakiutl dancers wearing masks and costumes crouch in foreground with others behind them. The chief on the far left holds a speaker's staff. Three totem poles in background, 1914.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Ceremonial dancer, full-length portrait, standing, wearing mask and a fur garments during the Winter Dance ceremony, 1914.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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A ceremonial mask of Nunivak, 1929.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Person wearing ceremonial mask of the Nuhlimahla during the Winter Dance ceremony. These characters impersonated fools and were noted for their devotion to filth and disorder, 1914.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Woman wearing a fringed Chilkat blanket, a hamatsa neckring and mask representing deceased relative who had been a shaman, 1914.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Two Native American men in costumes wearing horns of buffaloes, 1927.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Sisiutl, one of the main dancers in the Winter Dance ceremonies, wearing a double-headed serpent mask and shirt made of hemlock boughs, 1914.Edward Curtis/Library of Congress

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Stunning Native American Masks Of The Early 20th Century

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The essential irony of most any mask is that it doesn't actually conceal its wearer from the world, but instead expresses both their own inner self and the culture from which they come sometimes better than their bare face ever could.

While that may be less true today -- in the age of pop-up Halloween shops pushing the same few masks based on whatever, say, Disney property is hot at the moment -- it was certainly true of the Native Americans of the early 20th century.

From the Navajo to the Koskimo to the Kwakiutl and beyond, native tribes across the Americas placed great social and cultural importance on masks, using them in storytelling, dances, spiritual ceremonies and the like.

Whatever their purpose, these masks are also of course handcrafted works of art by turns gorgeous and terrifying -- but always visually arresting.

Thankfully, photographer and ethnologist Edward Curtis was on hand to capture images of countless Native Americans wearing these traditional masks throughout the first few decades of the 20th century, just as U.S. government policies were continuing to push for the permanent disappearance of the cultures and tribes that these masks represented.

View some of Curtis' photos of Native American masks along with minimally edited versions of his original captions above.

Fascinated by these Native American masks? Next, view Edward Curtis' portraits of Native Americans from the early 20th century. Then, read up on the Native American genocide and its legacy of oppression today.