Original photogravure from Edward S. Curtis’s The North American Indian, printed in 1910 and titled Cayuse Type. The portrait captures a Cayuse elder in frontal pose, richly adorned in long shell necklaces, a beaded and fringed hide garment, and holding a decorated tomahawk. Curtis’s lens emphasizes the subject’s deeply furrowed face, conveying both dignity and endurance.

The Cayuse were a small but historically significant Plateau tribe from the Pacific Northwest, known for their horse culture and resistance during early periods of colonization. This image, published in Volume VII of Curtis’s monumental series, is both a record of cultural specificity and a testament to his technical skill in composition and tonality. The gravure process brings out a full range of texture, from the softness of the hair to the intricacy of beadwork and the quiet authority of the sitter’s expression.