Quite a podcast, quite a book
Jun 26, 2017 2:30:48 GMT -5
peterd-Buffalo Spirit, Ronv69, and 1 more like this
Post by trailboss on Jun 26, 2017 2:30:48 GMT -5
Short Nights Of The Shadow Catcher by Timothy Egan
Some time back, Woodsroad (Dan Johnson) recommended the John Batchelor Show Podcast, and I was immediately hooked as he covers a wide range of subjects, this one was truly fascinating.
It is a 39 minute interview with the author:
audioboom.com/posts/4854268-short-nights-of-the-shadow-catcher-the-epic-life-and-immortal-photographs-of-edward-curtis-by-timothy-egan
The story has it all, a man that was raised in a poverty stricken family, became a notable photographer in San Francisco, ended up rubbing shoulders with barons of industry like J.P. Morgan, and President Teddy Roosevelt Catalogued and took pictures of native American tribes before they disappeared, and he was on the scene at the genesis of recording technology so his recordings ended up being the only record of tribal languages, had it not been for him they would have disappeared. His work was done during the twilight of the old west. He toured the little Big Horn with warriors that describe what took place, had he not done so we would probably never have known the truth about Custer's foolishness. He worked on early cinematic westerns, and died poor in relative obscurity in 1952...And all of that is a 30,000 foot view, so much more...It really is amazing that a screewriter hasn't decided to make this a movie, it has so much going for it.
If your family was well off enough to order one of the rare 20 volume sets, you are sitting on a couple million dollars.
His archived works would take many moons to sift through, Kemo Sabe...
curtis.library.northwestern.edu/
Some time back, Woodsroad (Dan Johnson) recommended the John Batchelor Show Podcast, and I was immediately hooked as he covers a wide range of subjects, this one was truly fascinating.
It is a 39 minute interview with the author:
audioboom.com/posts/4854268-short-nights-of-the-shadow-catcher-the-epic-life-and-immortal-photographs-of-edward-curtis-by-timothy-egan
The story has it all, a man that was raised in a poverty stricken family, became a notable photographer in San Francisco, ended up rubbing shoulders with barons of industry like J.P. Morgan, and President Teddy Roosevelt Catalogued and took pictures of native American tribes before they disappeared, and he was on the scene at the genesis of recording technology so his recordings ended up being the only record of tribal languages, had it not been for him they would have disappeared. His work was done during the twilight of the old west. He toured the little Big Horn with warriors that describe what took place, had he not done so we would probably never have known the truth about Custer's foolishness. He worked on early cinematic westerns, and died poor in relative obscurity in 1952...And all of that is a 30,000 foot view, so much more...It really is amazing that a screewriter hasn't decided to make this a movie, it has so much going for it.
If your family was well off enough to order one of the rare 20 volume sets, you are sitting on a couple million dollars.
"The passing of every old man or woman means the passing of some tradition, some knowledge of sacred rites possessed by no other...consequently the information that is to be gathered, for the benefit of future generations, respecting the mode of life of one of the great races of mankind, must be collected at once or the opportunity will be lost for all time."~ Edward S. Curtis
One of Curtis’ major goals was to record as much of the people’s way of traditional life as possible. Not content to deal only with the present population, and their arts and industries, he recognized that the present is a result of the past, and the past dimension must be included, as well. Guided by this concept, Curtis made 10,000 wax cylinder recordings of Indian language and music. In addition he took over 40,000 images from over 80 tribes, recorded tribal mythologies and history, and described tribal population, traditional foods, dwellings, clothing, games, ceremonies, burial customs, biographical sketches and other primary source information: all from a living as well as past tradition. Extending the same principle to the photographs, he presented his subjects in a traditional way whenever possible and even supplied a bit of the proper clothing when his subjects had none. Reenactments of battles, moving camp, ceremonies and other past activities were also photographed. These efforts provided extended pleasure to the elders and preserve a rare view of the earlier ways of the people.
curtis.library.northwestern.edu/
You piqued my curiosity Charlie, bought the book in used condition from Amazon, as wife's father was 100% Blackfoot it will make for interesting reading, footnote, never cross an Indian with a German, the combo is so violitale , wife has the greatest demeanor but when she gets mad, which is seldom, it makes Indians on the Warpath something else. No kidding.
