EARLY PHOTOGRAPHS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE ON A NOW-UNINHABITED ALEUTIAN ISLAND IN THE ALASKA TERRITORY

[Photography] [Alaska] [Indigenous Peoples]

About this Item

A collection of 16 black-and-white photographs, circa 1900, of indigenous people from the remote island of Attu in the Alaska Territory which is now completely uninhabited. Among the photographs are images of women cultivating local vegetation and weaving baskets, which is nearly a lost art. On June 7, 1942, six months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Northern Army landed, without opposition, on Attu, the farthest westward island of Alaska's Aleutian archipelago. American authorities had previously evacuated about 880 Aleuts from villages elsewhere in the Aleutian Islands, but Attu Village had not yet been evacuated. At the time, the population was 45 native Aleuts. The 42 who survived the invasion were taken prisoner, and 21 died during their imprisonment. In the meantime, Japanese forces established a base on Attu, which American forces attacked eight months later. Bloody battles resulted in the deaths of thousands of soldiers on both sides. The Japanese were ultimately defeated, and the U.S. set up an air base. After the war, the Attu survivors were shipped to other Aleutian Islands, or to mainland Alaska, and forbidden from returning to their ancestral home. A United States Coast Guard Station was established, but it closed in 2010 so no one now lives on Attu, making it the largest uninhabited island that is part of the United States. The individual who took the 16 black-and-white silver gelatin photographs in this collection is unknown but was likely a missionary. One photograph shows a family with a group of children all wearing the same type of striped sweater. The handwritten caption of the verso reads "A group of Aleuts after donning missionary clothing." Four of the photographs show native women weaving baskets. Attu baskets are made from wild rye grass, dyed and natural, with a closed twined weave to make some of the most delicate baskets in the world. The Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association began working with the few remaining Attu basket weavers in 2016 to host a class designed to train more teachers in the hopes that the Attu basket weaving style doesn't become extinct. Two of the photographs show Aleutian baskets, one set in the Bowen Collection and the other in the Maker Collection. Other images in the collection show the Attu people drying salmon on racks for the winter and washing clothing by hand. The silver gelatin prints measure 6 ½" x 4 ¾" and include handwritten captions in ink on the verso. All have the remnants of grey paper on the verso, as if removed from a photographic album. A few have creases from prior folds, not impacting the images. In addition to the photographs, included is a small hand-drawn map of a portion of the nearby Rat Islands and a printed map showing all of the Aleutian Islands. Early photographs of Attu, particularly those showing native women weaving, are scarce. The photographs are from the estate of Pierre Odier (1940-2021), author, educator, and lecturer who traveled to remote places to document indigenous peoples. He is the author of The Rock, A History of Alcatraz: The Fort/The Prison (1982). Seller Inventory # 77185

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Title: EARLY PHOTOGRAPHS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE ON A ...