ansel adams' america 2

But of course it wasn't really Ansel Adams' America, any more than the National Parks were public lands. The "Cigar Store Indian" he shot on Powell Street in 1933 was as unreal as the photographs he made of actual Pueblo dwellers, and to the credit of the curators, the show addresses this. He was not alone in his depiction of "savages," noble or otherwise. Preceding him were  Edward Curtis and John K. Hillers, who photographed "Big Navajo" @1879.

In an attempt to balance the show a bit, such contemporary native American photographers as Will Wilson were included. Wilson has photographed his fellow countrymen as well as himself (below).