Colored by Hand: Vintage Native American Photography

Published February 22, 2015
Updated January 12, 2019

Crow, Old Coyote also known as Yellow Dog, Original photo 1879, and color tinted circa 1910, via the Denver Public Library Digital Collections.

Photo titled Minnehaha, based on the fictional Native American woman from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1855 epic poem The Song of Hiawatha, 1904. Photochromic print by the Detroit Photographic Company, via the Library of Congress.

Cheyenne member Strong Left Hand and family at the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, 1906. In 1879 Strong Left Hand was jailed and later released free of charges in Kansas. Photo by Julia Tuell, via Buzz Tuell, Tuell Pioneer Photography.

Blackfoot (or Siksika) man known as Eagle Arrow in Montana, early 1900’s. Glass lantern slide by Walter McClintock, via the Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

author
Erin Kelly
author
An All That's Interesting writer since 2013, Erin Kelly focuses on historic places, natural wonders, environmental issues, and the world of science. Her work has also been featured in Smithsonian and she's designed several book covers in her career as a graphic artist.
editor
Savannah Cox
editor
Savannah Cox holds a Master's in International Affairs from The New School as well as a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and now serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of Sheffield. Her work as a writer has also appeared on DNAinfo.