filter_framesRichard Pohrt, Jr. Collection of Native American Photography

The Richard Pohrt, Jr. Collection of Native American photography at the William L. Clements Library contains images of Native American life from the 1850s to the 1920s. Over 70 North American tribes are represented, the majority from west of the Mississippi, with the Apache, Cheyenne, Crow, and Dakota and Lakota tribes being particularly well represented. The collection contains both studio and outdoor photographs and reflects the disruptions to Native American life and culture that occurred as a result of the expansion of European settler colonialism in North America.

In consultation with Native American representatives and scholars, it was decided that select images within the collection will not be digitized out of respect for the culturally sensitive nature of their content, including images of deceased persons or private religious ceremonies. However, these culturally sensitive images have been fully cataloged and are available for researchers in the reading room, along with the rest of the collection. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns about materials included in the digital collection.

Detailed information on content and description for all items in this collection can be found in the individual catalog records in Library Search and in the collection Finding Aid. See the Additional Descriptive Data Section in the Finding Aid for a Partial Subject Index and Contributor Index.

Cataloging of this collection was funded through the generous support of the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation and the Frederick S. Upton Foundation. The bulk of the collection was donated by Tyler J. Duncan and Richard Pohrt Jr., with additional purchased materials from various sources. This is a growing collection.

See also the online exhibit “No, not even for a picture”: Re-examining the Native Midwest and Tribes’ Relations to the History of Photography, created by Lindsey Willow Smith and Veronica Cook Williamson. In addition to the Pohrt collection, see the Clements Library Image Bank and the subject guide for Native American History to find more materials from the Clements Library collections related to Native American history.

Rights and Permissions

The University of Michigan Library provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes. A few images may be under copyright. If you decide to use any of these materials, you are responsible for making your own legal assessment and securing any necessary permission.