Native American Traditional

Three Fingers. A Cheyenne man. 1898. Photo by F.A. Rinehart

Cheyenne man, Bird Wild Hog; also known as Hedge Hog 1890. Photo by Christian Barthelmess.

Comanche women - We-Yah-Yet-Chy, wife of Moaf Towat, and mother of Mrs. Pete Coffey. 1890-1910.

COYOTE RUNS, also known as High Bird, about 1905. Coyote Runs was reportedly the son of Alligator Stands Up. The portrait by Fred E. Miller was taken on Montana’s Crow Reservation, southeast of Billings. Miller had worked as a professional photographer before arriving in 1898, but on the Reservation he worked civil service jobs. Miller’s efforts to market his images had failed, and his work was ignored until the 1985 publication of “Fred E. Miller: Photographer of the Crows.”

Miller’s bulky camera was unusually close, revealing the thickness of the face paint. PC users are encouraged to click image to better see detail. Text and digital restoration of photo by Gary Coffrin.