American Indian Culture and Research Journal

I would like to begin with a story that I hope will demonstrate how I researched the two books of photography, Navaho Means People by Leonard McCombe and The Enduring Navaho by Laura Gilpin. I remember showing the books to an elderly Navajo woman sitting at a table in a chapter house. She carefully turned each page of the two books. Midway into Laura Gilpin’s book, she stopped and said, “I used to sleep on a dirt floor just like that. These pictures seem so old, so far away. If it wasn’t for all the silver and turquoise, I would think they were real. Nobody wears their jewelry all the time.” I later asked to photograph her and she nodded and then told me, “Wait. Let me go home and put on my jewelry.” I want to discuss photography and the Navajo, in particular, the work of Laura Gilpin and Leonard McCombe. But, before I get into that I think it is important to speak just a little about the Navajo. I want to qualify almost everything I shall write by saying that this is from a Navajo point of view. You may dispute the facts, but you cannot dispute the point of view. At first glance, we are a very easy tribe to photograph. Everywhere you look there is a striking image. The landscape is rugged and spectacular. The land changes from a desert environment to sandstone mountains and deep canyons. To say it is a beautiful reservation is an understatement. The reservation is the largest in the country, and the government is as full of red tape as any state. Most important, Navajo culture is alive and Navajo history is rich. This is what makes the Navajo people appear easy to photograph.