Native American Women

This gallery explores daily life for late-19th-century Native American women of the plains and the desert southwest. Multiple tribes are pictured, illustrating a composite of early Native American life. Similarities in daily activities for women across tribes are presented.

The gallery highlights the nation-building roles of women and thus favors women-in-action images. Consequently, photographic qualities are sometimes secondary to the activity being shown.

A photographic portrayal of Native American life before the arrival of white culture is necessarily contaminated with evidence of Euro-American culture. Images show cotton, iron kettles, straw hats and umbrellas. Nevertheless, the activities of Native Americans, which this gallery emphasizes, can give us insightful glimpses into early American life.