The Gift of the Face

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The book presents a critical reexamination of Edward S. Curtis's monumental photographic series documenting Native American cultures. It challenges the notion of Native peoples as a "vanishing race" by highlighting Curtis's empathetic portrayal of their cultural crises amid modern transformations. Shamoon Zamir emphasizes the collaborative nature of Curtis's work, suggesting that the Native subjects played a crucial role as coauthors in this ethnographic project. The analysis reveals deeper insights into the complexities of identity and history captured in Curtis's powerful imagery.