| groups and group activity. During his middle phaseapproximately 1900 to 1910he did portrait photography, recording Indians as individuals. In his final phase, starting around 1911, he often photographed Indians in deliberately posed scenes, showing them preparing a hide for tanning, making a fire with flint and steel, cooking meat in skins. |
| Convinced that the man and his work were important, we set about reconstructing the events of his life and to identifying the subjects and circumstances shown in his pictures. We obtained biographical information about Anderson from members of his family, his friends, and his associates. |
| We were also given access to the known diaries kept by Anderson and his wife. The earliest diary was written by John before his marriage and covered the period from March 25, 1889, to February 25, 1890. The second was kept by Mrs. Anderson from January 1 to January 17, 1930. Both are in the Sioux Indian Museum at Rapid City, South Dakota, deposited there in 1969 by their grandson, Harold Anderson. There was also a third Anderson diary, which we were unable to find. Mrs. Alma Roosa, Anderson's niece, read parts of it with Mrs. Anderson years ago. She thinks that, although the Andersons collaborated on its contents, it was actually written by Mrs. Anderson. The dates it covered are unknown. |
| In the 188990 diary Anderson did not always make his entries day by day but sometimes made a number of them at one time. Thus occasionally the events noted are not in chronological order. That is perhaps to be expected, for in his work he covered a wide territory by horseback, by carriage, and on foot, and sometimes he was away from home for extended periods of time. There are tantalizing omissions in the record. He barely mentions the Crook Treaty Council, for example, except to state that he photographed it and obtained some interesting negatives. |
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