New exhibit showcases rare 1870-era Native American photos

New exhibit showcases rare 1870-era Native American photos

(Photo Courtesy Thunderbird Foundation)


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Editor's note: This article is a part of a series reviewing Utah and national history for KSL.com's Historic section.MOUNT CARMEL, Kane County — A new exhibit of rare photos showcasing Utah and other western Native Americans taken by an early prominent photographer in the 1870s went on display at the Maynard Dixon Home Thursday.

The exhibit, a set of 116 albumen photographs, were taken by John Hillers between 1872 and 1875, according to the Thunderbird Foundation, who acquired the collection in 1999. They were the first photographs ever taken of the southern Utah tribes.

Hillers was a German-born photographer who started taking photographs while exploring the Colorado River in 1871 along with geologist John Wesley Powell, according to the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Originally a boatman, Hillers set out as an expedition photographer the following year, which is when the Native American photo collection began.

“The photography they were using and the methods they were using was relatively primitive,” said Paul Bingham, CEO and co-founder of the Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts. “To think these guys could take a thousand pounds of heavy duty equipment on one of those dories not bigger than maybe 12- or 15-feet long down the Colorado River is just amazing.”

After the initial 1872 trip, Hillers returned to Kanab in southern Kane County and decided to start photographing the sub-tribes of the Paiute Nation living in the area. The photos were then sent to Washington, D.C. where their exploration projects were being funded.

Hillers went on to work with Powell for the next 30 years, who became the first director of the U.S. Bureau of Ethnology. While Hillers worked a lot with geology and geography, he also spent about 20 years exploring various western Native American tribes until he died in 1925, according to the Getty Museum.

The photos will remain on display until Nov. 15. Tickets to view the exhibit are $5 and are available online.

The Maynard Dixon Home garners tourists from across the world, especially in the summertime. Bingham said he hopes the new collection will help show people a little slice of important southern Utah history.

“The purpose of this showing was to add another venue to Kane County for people around the world to see,” he said. “This region is where the world comes to see America and this is no different. People are amazed to see things that were going on here (in the 1870s).”

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Carter Williams is an award-winning reporter who covers general news, outdoors, history and sports for KSL.com.

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