Beschreibung:

Lot of 4 photographs of Sarah Winnemucca and a woman identified as her sister, Mrs. Smith, both dressed in Euro-American clothing, and shot within the same domestic setting. The lot includes 2 boudoir portraits, one of Winnemucca alone and one in which she poses with her sister; plus 2 smaller portraits of each woman, pensively looking off into the distance, both 4.5 x 4.5 in., mounted, 5 x 7 in. Each photograph lacks a studio imprint. Sarah Winnemucca (ca 1844-1891) was the first American Indian woman known to secure a copyright for an English language publication. Life Among the Paiutes: Their Wrongs and Claims, which is mostly autobiographical, documents her people during their first four decades of contact with Euro-Americans. She was of both worlds: the Paiutes had little contact with whites when Sarah was born; she spent much of her adult life in white society. Her family seemed to be of both worlds, also. Her grandfather was friendly to whites, and guided John C. Fremont during his survey. During the Bannock War, Winnemucca worked as a translator for the Army. She may also have been a scout and messenger. She began lecturing after the war, when her people were considered hostile and removed from their reservation. She met and married Lewis Hopkins, an employee of the Indian Department. The couple traveled east where she caught the attention of Elizabeth Peabody and Mary Peabody Mann, who both worked to promote her speaking career. Winnemucca returned to Nevada to establish a school which emphasized Paiute language and lifestyle, but the Dawes Act requiring Indian children to learn English effectively shut down Sarah's school. Condition: Light, even toning to photographs; some light edge and corner wear to mounts; 2 of the 4 photographs include pencil identifications on verso.