Beyond the Reach of Time and Change: Native American Reflections on the Frank A. Rinehart Photograph Collection (Sun Tracks) [Paperback]

Simon J. Ortiz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Sun Tracks | Publication Date: April 1, 2005

Around the turn of the twentieth century, most photographs of Indians pandered to shameless, insensitive stereotypes. In contrast, photographic portraits made by Frank A. Rinehart conveyed the dignity and pride of Native peoples. More than 545 Native Americans representing tribes from all over the country attended the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition in Omaha in 1898 to be part of an event known as the Indian Congress. Rinehart, the exposition’s official photographer, and his assistant Adolph Muhr made more than 500 glass-plate negatives depicting Native Americans in their traditional dress, now housed at Haskell Indian Nations University and regarded as one of the best photographic documentations of Indian leaders from this era. This book provides an unusual perspective on the Rinehart collection. It features one hundred outstanding images printed from the original negatives made by Rinehart and Muhr at the Congress and over the course of the next two years. It also includes 14 essays by modern Native American writers, artists, and educators—some of them descendants of the individuals photographed—reflecting on the place of these images in their heritage. Beyond the Reach of Time and Change is not another coffee-table book of historical Indian photographs but rather a conversation between Indian people of a century ago and today. Just as the Rinehart collection offers today's Native Americans a unique connection to the past, this book offers all readers a positive understanding of continuity and endurance within the American Indian community.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“An important perspective that should deepen and complicate our conversations about native history and identity.”—Montana: The Magazine of Western History

From the Inside Flap

From the beginning of their contact with outsiders, American Indians have been depicted as exotic, their image ranging from savage to noble depending on the dominant culture's prevailing attitude. Around the turn of the twentieth century, many photographs of Indians pandered to shameless, insensitive stereotypes. In contrast, photographic portraits made by Frank A. Rinehart from 1898 to 1900 conveyed the dignity and pride of Native peoples. Native Americans were invited to the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition in Omaha in 1898 to be part of an event known as the Indian Congress. Over 545 delegates representing 35 tribes from all over the country attended--including Geronimo and his followers, then prisoners of war. Rinehart, the exposition's official photographer, and his assistant Adolph Muhr made over 500 glass-plate negatives depicting Native Americans in their traditional dress, now housed at Haskell Indian Nations University and regarded as one of the best photographic documentations of Indian leaders from this era. This book provides an unusual perspective on the Rinehart collection. It features one hundred outstanding images printed from the original negatives made by Rinehart and Muhr at the Congress and over the course of the next two years. It also includes 14 essays by modern Native American writers, artists, and educators--some of them descendants of the individuals photographed--reflecting on the place of these images in their heritage. Beyond the Reach of Time and Change is not another coffee-table book of historical Indian photographs but rather a conversation between Indian people of a century ago and today. Sculptor Bob Haozous, a great-grandson of one of Geronimo's followers, celebrates the heroic resistance of the Apache people and the artistic inspiration he takes from his ancestors. Writer and scholar Geary Hobson sees in the photographs the spark for a Roots-like awakening and connectedness for Indian people. Others like Ray Young Bear and Laura Tohe comment on the era in which the photos were made--a time when Americans believed the West had been won and the United States was already establishing itself on the world stage--or speak to the relevance of the images to their own lives. By listening to the stories these photographs tell, the book's contributors draw inferences and insights easily overlooked by outsiders regarding stereotypes and self-perception, assimilation and resistance. The Rinehart collection offers today's Native Americans a unique connection to the past; Beyond the Reach of Time and Change offers all readers a positive understanding of continuity and endurance within the American Indian community. Contributors: Ned Blackhawk, Gregory A. Cajete, Julie Cajune, Debra Earling, Bob Haozous, Geary Hobson, Ted Jojola, Carole Nez, Simon J. Ortiz, Bobbi Rahder, James Riding In, Beverly R. Singer, Laura Tohe, Ray A. Young Bear, Alfred Young Man --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816523606
• ISBN-13: 978-0816523603
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,100,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars recommended for native studies shelves, April 16, 2005

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond the Reach of Time and Change: Native American Reflections on the Frank A. Rinehart Photograph Collection (Sun Tracks) (Paperback)

Beyond the Reach of Time and Change: Native American Reflections on the Frank A. Rinehart Photograph Collection features one hundred photographic portraits taken during the very late nineteenth century by professional Frank A. Rinehart. Rinehart practiced his trade upon Native Americans in their traditional dress during the an event known as the Indian Congress; his landmark photography, which unlike that of others did not pander to shameless stereotypes, rests in the Haskell Indian Nations University today and is widely regarded as one of the best photographic documentaries of the era. In addition to the powerful black-and-white photographs of individuals and groups from a wide variety of native tribes, Beyond the Reach of Time and Change features 14 essays by modern Native American writers, artists and educators - including some descendants of the individuals photographed - offering various reflections upon the role of these timeless images in their heritage. Highly recommended for native studies shelves and personal collections, and an emotional collection to page through.