Welcome to the collection of Historic Photographs on the Living Landscapes website. This material has been assembled from a number of different collections in the Okanagan Valley and is very useful in helping us to understand the relationships that have existed over the years between the settlers and native people.

The value of the historic photograph as an educational tool

Some excellent material has been written on the use of photographs as tools for the historian. The journal BC Studies devotes its winter 1981-82 publication to articles written on this subject. Also Karen Frisch-Ripley (1991) has written a valuable book entitled Unlocking the secrets in old photographs which, while focusing more on the use of family photographs as a research tool, does provide some useful hints in analysis.

Davison (1981-82) helps to set the stage in his article Turning a blind eye: the historian's use of photographs when he points out: "A photograph, we are increasingly told by photo historians, is an historical document in its own right and, like every other historical document, it is meant to be read, all ten thousand words of it with at least the same care and attention to detail as a letter, a diary, a manuscript or a book - line by line and word by word" (p. 16). He further captures us with his description of the "power" of the photograph. "Because the photograph, unlike a painting, has been created by a mechanical process which records every visual surface within its purview exhaustively and directly, we attribute to the photograph a high degree of credibility" (p. 17-18). This, he distinguishes as different from a painting or other forms of rendering and creates a unique connection between the viewer and the photograph which results in the material in the picture being taken at "face value".

Thomas (1981-82), in his article Photography of the Indian: concept and practice on the Northwest Coast, develops the value of photographic records further but with the specific focus on recording the image of the 'Indian'. "Yet here too the photographers had something to offer: they could present their subjects with an unprecedented fidelity to fact, with a mechanical accuracy." (p. 61).

The author leads us into the critical discussion around understandings of 'reasons' for photographs being taken. "Other customers for Indian portraits may have been local Indians, for we find some portraits taken in a very different style. They show confident-looking Indians, in non-Indian dress, posed before the camera so as to register personal qualities." (p. 65) Thomas also highlights the dangers of the "posed" photograph with specific reference to the Dally photograph , "Travelling into the Interior, Dally stops at Mission and brings a group of Indians and priests down on their knees "at prayer," as he notes, "for the sake of the photograph". (p. 67).

Much more can be gleaned from the literature about the value of the historic photograph as a research and educational tool. Too often in the high school curriculum such pursuits are sacrificed in order to meet the demands of content. While the cited articles provide valuable justification for photographic analysis, presumably at the College level and higher, the 'Historic Photograph Interpretation Exercise' presented on the web site here creates the justification for the introduction and use of this tool in the high school humanities curriculum.

Through the course of this exercise you will examine specific material based upon certain pre-selected 'themes' and then have the opportunity to develop a theme of your own and explore the material that you uncover. You will be introduced to a number of different concepts, not only about photographic interpretation but also about how people are "presented" and how they present themselves.

Daniel Francis (1992), in his book, The imaginary Indian, addresses the concept of presentation very thoroughly:

The Indian began as a White man's mistake and became a White man's fantasy. Through the prism of White hopes, fears and prejudices, indigenous Americans would be seen to have lost contact with reality and to have become "Indians"; that is, anything non-Natives wanted them to be. ...

Many of the images of Indians held by Whites were derogatory, and many were not. Many contained accurate representations of Native people; many did not. The "truth" of the image is not really what concerns me. I am not setting out to expose fraudulent images by comparing them to a "real Indian:. It is after all the argument of this book that there is no such thing as a real Indian. (p. 5).

Francis's work is a useful companion for work on photograph interpretation that involves Aboriginal people. He presents a useful caution on how to consider photographic material in the historical context of the period. You are encouraged, particularly in Inquiry #3, to examine the evidence and attempt to determine what the photographic records tell us about relationships between the Okanagan people and the non-Natives.

Davison, J.R. (1981-82, Winter). Turning a blind eye: the historian's use of photographs. BC Studies, 52, pp. 16-38.

Francis, D. (1992). The imaginary Indian: the image of the Indian in Canadian culture. Vancouver, BC: Arsenal Pulp Press.

Frisch-Ripley, K. (1991). Unlocking the secrets in old photographs. Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry.

Schwartz, J.M. (Ed.). (1981-81, Winter). The past in focus: photography & British Columbia, 1858-1914. [Special issue]. BC Studies, 52.

Thomas, A. (1981-82, Winter). Photography of the Indian: concept and practice on the Northwest Coast. BC Studies, 52, pp. 61-85.