An original 1907 photogravure by Edward S. Curtis, titled Red Hawk – Ogalala, from The North American Indian, Volume III. The image presents a close-up, frontal portrait of Red Hawk, an Oglala Lakota elder, rendered with Curtis’s signature clarity and tonal depth. The deeply lined face, direct gaze, and elaborate feathered war bonnet reflect not only the sitter’s personal dignity but also the weight of lived experience and cultural inheritance.

Red Hawk, a member of the Oglala Lakota, is depicted in a powerful gravure portrait taken by Edward S. Curtis in 1907. Wearing a feathered war bonnet adorned with beadwork and metal cones, Red Hawk looks directly into the camera with an expression of quiet defiance and dignity. Curtis often sought to capture the essence of Native leadership and resistance in his images, and Red Hawk, who had fought in multiple campaigns and later served as a reservation policeman, exemplifies that vision. The composition, rendered in rich sepia tones, communicates the strength and gravity of a warrior whose life spanned a period of immense upheaval for his people.