[Little Robe, Cheyenne Indian, half-length portrait, seated, facing right]

These portraits are valuable records that document Native American dress and customs at the end of the nineteenth century during an active period of Indian removal and hostilities against Native Americans.Library of Congress holds one of the most important collections of Native American photographic portraits.

During the administrations of Presidents Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover, the National Photo Company supplied photographs of current news events in Washington, D.C., as a daily service to its subscribers. It also prepared sets of pictures on popular subjects and undertook special photographic assignments for local businesses and government agencies. The bulk of the images were created between 1909 and 1932. The photographic files of the National Photo Company, including an estimated 80,000 images (photographic prints and corresponding glass negatives), were acquired by the Library from its proprietor Herbert E. French in 1947.