100 Years Ago Real Native Americans Proudly Posed for the Camera: Chiefs, Warriors, and Priests from Some of the Largest Tribes Shown in Newly Colorized Photos

Arrowmaker, an Ojibwa warrior, circa 1903: This image forms part of a set of colorized photographs of Native Americans taken at the turn of the 20th century. The Ojibwa tribe settled mainly in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario. Hunters and fishermen, they also traded in furs with the French. The Ojibwa are part of a larger group of indigenous peoples known as the Anishinaabeg. The Ojibwe language, part of the Algonquian language family, is widely spoken in Canada

Incredible colorized photographs have brought the history of the Native American people to life.

The fascinating images, dating back more than 100 years, include two cute Ojibwa babies in beautifully decorated cradleboards (traditional baby carriers); Taqui, a Hopi snake priest bedecked in a huge silver necklace; and a family portrait of members of the Ute tribe looking proudly towards the camera.

Other photos show a young Native American man laboring under a huge crop of barley, and three Apache men – Chief James A. Garfield, Pouche Te Foya and Sanches – looking resplendent in their feather headdresses.

Garfield was the revered chief of Apaches, a group of tribes which are similar in culture and speak the same language.

The Ojibwa are one of the largest Native American tribes in North America; the Ute were the last of the Western tribes to be forced onto a reservation; and the Crow, a nomadic tribe of hunters on the Great Plains.

Three Apache men – Chief James A. Garfield (center), Pouche Te Foya and Sanches – looking resplendent in their feather headdresses, circa 1900. The traditional lands of the Jicarilla Apache also include Oklahoma. They were driven out in 1716 by the Comanche tribe and settled in what is now New Mexico. There are currently about 2,800 tribal members of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, most of whom live in the town of Dulce. The name ‘Jicarilla’ comes from the Mexican Spanish ‘little basket’, which references the sealed receptacles they used for drinking

A member of the Crow tribe, circa 1902. The Crow people were a plains tribe from land near the base of the Big Horn mountains in Wyoming and Montana. The tribe were powerful and skilled hunters on horseback and could demonstrate this during battle with techniques like hanging underneath a galloping horse by gripping the animal’s mane. They were also known for their distinctive clothing, particularly their ornate and decorative bead-work

Apache chief James A. Garfield. It is believed that he was given the name by Spanish missionaries. He lived in La Jara, Colorado with his wife. For the most part, the Native American tribes lived peaceably, believing that nature was sacred and was to be shared. However, the coming of the Europeans and the removal of their land led to conflict – both between the different tribes and between the Native Americans and the newcomers

Jose Romero, his wife and a baby in a cradleboard, 1899. This family were members of the Ute tribe. The Utes were a large tribe that lived in the mountain regions of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Eastern Nevada and Northern New Mexico. Utes were skilled hunters but, after introducing horses into tribe life in the 17th century, they became known as expert big game hunters – especially of buffalo, which they were particularly reliant on

Taqui, a Hopi snake priest. The Hopi tribe – also known as Moki – settled in what is now northeastern Arizona. Their culture traditionally centered around farming, and after the arrival of the Spanish in 1540, sheep-herding. One of their most notable rituals was the Snake Dance, which saw performers dance with live snakes in their mouths. A peaceful tribe, they were occasionally subjected to raids by Navajo and Apaches. There are believed to be about 15,000 people of Hopi descent alive today

For the most part the Native American tribes lived peaceably, believing that nature was sacred and was to be shared.

However, the coming of the Europeans and the removal of their land led to conflict between the different tribes – and between the Native Americans and the newcomers.

By the end of the 19th century, the tribes had lost their fight to preserve their traditional way of life and those who had survived the conflicts were confined to reservations.

The vivid images, which were taken around the turn of the 20th century, were produced using photochrom; a method of producing colorized photographs from black and white negatives via the direct photographic transfer of a negative onto lithographic printing plates.

It was invented in the 1880s and was most popular in the 1890s, when these images were taken. Although true colour photography had been developed by then, it was not commercially practical yet.

Photochrom reproductions became popular due to the craze with sending postcards.

A group of Ute children, 1899. Utes had a reputation of fierce warriors, with Spanish settlers speaking of their fine physiques and ability to live in harsh conditions – a stark contrast to the soft dispositions of their Europeans counterparts. All members of the tribe were willing to fight… with women and children also known to defend their camps with spears if necessary

Chief Ignacio (1828-1913) of the Southern Utes. Ignacio was leader of the Weenuchiu band of Utes, located in present-day Colorado, at a time when European-American settlers started encroaching on Ute land in the late 1800s. He helped to negotiate tribal treaties – and the Southern Ute Indian Reservation would go on to name Ignacio as its capital in his honor

Ojibwa babies in cradleboards, circa 1903. Tradition dictated that every Ojibwa tribe was divided into migratory bands. In the autumn, these groups separated into family units, which dispersed to individual hunting areas; in summer, families gathered together, usually at fishing sites. There are an estimated 175,000 people of Ojibwa descent alive today

Pueblo tribal members. Jose Jesus and wife, 1899. These indigenous people were given the name ‘pueblos’ (‘towns’) by colonizing Spaniards, on account of the small, permanent settlements the tribe called home,in Arizona and New Mexico. The systematic persecution of Native Americans by the white settlers had left what little Natives remained with few options, the best of which perhaps was to become part of mainstream society in an attempt to adjust to modern life

A Hopi man with a hoe, while another brings in the harvest. The tribe farmed the sandy, arid soil for hundreds of years, with barley and maize chief among its crops. They also grew beans, squash and melons. Such activity was carried out by men, while the women would weave baskets, make pottery, raise their children and care for the elderly

Southern Ute tribe member Pee Viggi and his wife, 1899. Today, the Uintah and Ouray reservation is the home of the Ute tribe. It is located in Northeastern Utah (Fort Duchesne) approximately 150 miles east of Salt Lake City – and is the second largest Indian Reservation in the U.S., covering 4.5million acres.

SOURCE: Daily Mail, Nick Enoch