Native, Black, & White Ranchers, Oklahoma

Outdoor group mounted albumen photograph of 17 Oklahoma ranchers. [Oklahoma]: N.p., ca 1910. Each subject is numbered in image with a corresponding identification recorded to mount recto.

Mounted c.1910 group photograph of 17 Oklahoma ranchers. Each man in this diverse group of Native American, black, and white workers is identified in red ink on the mount below the photo, with a small, neat number written on each subject as a key. The cowboy marked as number one, a black man seated in the center of the group, is noted as “Joe Bird, Shot 6/30/[18]93”. The rest of the men's fates are unknown at this time, but at least several have been found on various census reports as living/working in Oklahoma.

The assortment of men clearly from different ethnic backgrounds makes this a compelling view. The American West was not strictly segregated during the frontier era, especially among the working class.

[Native Americans, African Americana, African American History, Black History, Western Expansion, Wild West, Frontier, Pioneers, Cowboys, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Albumen, Silver Gelatin, CDV, Carte de Visite, Cabinet Card, Boudoir Card]