Women and Warriors of the Plains: The Pioneer Photography of Julia E. Tuell

In the waning days of the reign of Native American tribes, Julia Tuell photographed the Cheyennes in Montana, the Sac and Fox in Oklahoma, and the Lakota in South Dakota. She owed her nomadic existence to her husband's job as a schoolmaster on reservations. Her art she owed to her own talents and the trust extended by various tribes, who allowed her to chronicle even sacred religious ceremonies such as the Sun Dance and an animal dance called the Massaum. Her photographs are often strikingly beautiful compositions, but part of what makes the plainer ones memorable are the small acts of daily life among women: grinding berries, scraping and staking out hides, carrying a baby strapped into a decorated cradle board. Dan Aadland, a friend of Tuell's youngest son, provides historic context and some illumination in the occasionally fawning accompanying text.