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Justin E.H. Smith

Justin E.H. Smith’s next book, The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is, will appear from Princeton University Press in 2021. You may subscribe to his newsletter at justinehsmith.substack.com.

  • Timothy H. O’Sullivan (American, born Ireland, 1840–1882), 'Shoshone,' 1867-72. Many of the men in the photograph are wearing U.S. Army hats and shirts, paraphernalia probably acquired through barter at the Army’s trading posts. When O’Sullivan made the picture, the delicate ecology of the Shoshone’s food sources (buffalo, small game, roots, berries, and grass seed) had been virtually destroyed over the preceding 30 years by the heedless practices of emigrant white settlers. The resulting degradation and the marauding, murderous retaliation of the Shoshone and associated tribes became known as the ‘Indian question,’ which the U.S. government attempted to resolve through legislation, the establishment of reservations, and, on occasion, slaughter. As an exploratory visitor rather than an exploitative settler, O’Sullivan met little hostility from Native Americans. If some of his subjects were reluctant to pose for the ‘shadow-catcher,’ the 13 Shoshone depicted here seem resolute and patient. Expressed as a pyramid, the group’s corporate solidarity appears as permanent as an ancient cairn, in contrast to the American and expeditionary flags, tents, and distant plain which, through the photographer’s choice, are rendered as flat and insubstantial as his own shadow.
    Timothy H. O’Sullivan (American, born Ireland, 1840–1882), 'Shoshone,' 1867-72. Many of the men in the photograph are wearing U.S. Army hats and shirts, paraphernalia probably acquired through barter at the Army’s trading posts. When O’Sullivan made the picture, the delicate ecology of the Shoshone’s food sources (buffalo, small game, roots, berries, and grass seed) had been virtually destroyed over the preceding 30 years by the heedless practices of emigrant white settlers. The resulting degradation and the marauding, murderous retaliation of the Shoshone and associated tribes became known as the ‘Indian question,’ which the U.S. government attempted to resolve through legislation, the establishment of reservations, and, on occasion, slaughter. As an exploratory visitor rather than an exploitative settler, O’Sullivan met little hostility from Native Americans. If some of his subjects were reluctant to pose for the ‘shadow-catcher,’ the 13 Shoshone depicted here seem resolute and patient. Expressed as a pyramid, the group’s corporate solidarity appears as permanent as an ancient cairn, in contrast to the American and expeditionary flags, tents, and distant plain which, through the photographer’s choice, are rendered as flat and insubstantial as his own shadow.
    Arts & Letters section icon
    In Praise of Native Americanism

    Appropriation of identities we cannot claim has been a dangerous constant in American history. In an age of identity politics, it is still the best way of understanding our national character.

    byJustin E.H. Smith
  • A lower school substitute teacher works from her home due to the coronavirus outbreak, on April 1, 2020, in Arlington, Virginia
    A lower school substitute teacher works from her home due to the coronavirus outbreak, on April 1, 2020, in Arlington, Virginia
    Science section icon
    The Work-Pleasure-Surveillance Machine Threatens All of Us

    What happens when our homes become our employers’ offices?

    byJustin E.H. Smith
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