Episode Summary: The American West – “Ep. 19: Shadows of the Frontier” (Jan 13, 2026)

Overview

In this episode, Dan Flores delves into how the mythos and memory of the “Old West” continue to shape understandings of the American West, even after the so-called frontier officially ended. Flores explores the tension between nostalgia and authenticity by focusing on the legacies of two pivotal artists: photographer Edward Sheriff Curtis (“the shadow catcher”) and painter Vinald Rice. Their work both shaped and challenged ensuing narratives of the West and its Indigenous peoples. Flores and co-host Randall examine how these images, created at a time of “frontier anxiety,” reflected wider American and European struggles with modernity, tradition, and representation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The West as Enduring Myth and Place

• Dan Flores sets the stage, contrasting perceptions of the West with other historical eras.

  • Unlike discrete historical phases like the Confederacy or World War II, "the West was never just a phase, but a place, a remarkable region... whose present story is intertwined with its past." (Dan Flores, 02:50)

• The “end” of the frontier, per the 1890 census, was not so clean-cut—physical and cultural realities persisted.

• The power and persistence of Western mythology: The nostalgia for the “Old West”—as seen through Wild West shows, film, and art—lingered for decades, shaping American and even global imaginations.

  “The Old west virus infected all of us... as a five year old, I once found myself in an Oklahoma City elevator looking up at a fellow passenger I realized was film star Randolph Scott. The excitement almost took me out. I've never been without a pair of cowboy boots since.” (Dan Flores, 08:25)

2. Edward Sheriff Curtis: Art, Nostalgia, and Fabrication

The Life and Work of Curtis ([11:40]–[24:00])

• Early beginnings: Limited formal education, built his first camera from a wooden box; moved west, struggled to find his artistic subject.
• Breakthrough: Befriended and photographed Princess Angeline (Chief Seattle's daughter), processed in sepia for a timeless quality—a technique that became his hallmark.
• Recognition: A chance meeting with elites on Mt. Rainier led to his participation in the famous Harriman Alaska expedition and friendships with influential figures, which eventually helped fund his “North American Indian” project.
• The Project: With J.P. Morgan’s $75,000 backing, Curtis aimed to document Native cultures—decades after many had been forced onto reservations.
  • Academic and anthropological pushback (esp. from Franz Boas) for staging and fictionalizing “traditional” scenes that no longer existed.
  • President Theodore Roosevelt, caught up in the romance, lent his support.

“But why? What is it we see in Curtis’s photographs? Who was this shadow catcher... how was someone like this on the scene in the Old west with a camera? Well, that’s the first fantasy about the shadow catcher to brush aside.” (Dan Flores, 13:45)

The Problem of Authenticity

• Curtis constructed “timeless” images through sepia tone, costumes, and sometimes manipulation—“airbrushing away” or removing modern elements.
  • Curtis's images often depicted Native life as it had supposedly existed before assimilation, staging people in traditional dress and poses.
  • Flores notes that some Natives “duped” Curtis, e.g., performing ceremonial dances backwards for the camera.
• Curtis’s legacy is thus double-edged:
  • The images are iconic and mesmerizing, affirming the strength and beauty of Native cultures.
  • Yet, “rarely do his photos show Indian life as it actually was in the Post Frontier.” (Dan Flores, 22:30)

“There's also always the question of whether you can entirely trust a Curtis image...” (Dan Flores, 22:35)

“Listening to George Horse Capture helps though... he believes that Curtis's work strengthens Native confidence. What Curtis's images show is that what Indians suspected about the depth and beauty of their ancestors culture in the Old west was true.” (Dan Flores, 23:50)

3. Vinald Rice: Transition to Modernity and “New” Western Realities

Artistic Background & Influence ([28:03]–[44:40])

• Rice’s Germanic fascination: Raised on the fictionalized West of Carl Mai novels, Rice came to America seeking “real Indians,” initially assuming he’d find teepees outside Manhattan.
  • “Like all of us, he was a product of time and place... time, the late 19th century... the place was Germany.” (Dan Flores, 29:00)
• Arrival among the Blackfeet: Welcomed with humor and tolerance, Rice began a prolific portrait project, capturing hundreds of images in just weeks.
  • Blackfeet remembered these artists as people who “had profound respect for us as human beings. Their respect shows in the images they created.” (Dan Flores, 32:18)
• Collaboration with the Great Northern Railroad:
  • Rice’s art was employed to market Glacier National Park as an exotic, touristic destination—“the American version of the Swiss Alps, except with Indians.”
  • Yet, over summers spent with the Blackfeet, Rice's art transitioned from romanticized nostalgia to honest, modern portraits—capturing cowboy hats, jeans, pickups.
  • Tension between authenticity and the railroad’s marketing needs (they preferred “exotic” depictions for tourism).

Rice’s Legacy

• Rice painted Native people "as they appeared daily to one another”, not as a “vanishing race” but as modern, adapting Americans.
  • The episode recounts a pivotal moment: a Blackfeet woman sued the railroad for using her image for advertising without payment—an assertion of agency unthinkable in the stereotypical “Old West.”

“...Rice’s relationship with the Blackfeet showed something more honest than Curtis ever did. He produced a portrait of a generation of native people who were no longer buffalo hunters, but ranchers who lived in clapboard houses or federal employees who drove pickups.” (Dan Flores, 41:26)

4. Conversation: Nostalgia, Representation, and Real People

Sepia as Strategy ([48:21]–[51:00])

• Randall explores Curtis’s intent behind the “antiquing” effect of sepia. Dan Flores explains Curtis “processed them in a chemical mix... to make these look aged... so viewers would feel a timelessness about it.” ([48:45])
  • A friend once commented he “had no idea there were cameras back then,” highlighting how Curtis’s work blurs timelines.
  • The roots of “authentic nostalgia” in art and how Curtis’s and Rice’s commercial motivations intersected with genuine passion.

Complicating the Myth vs. Modernity Narrative ([51:00]–[57:13])

• Discussion on authenticity and the “great fabricator” accusation: Anthropologists were wary of Curtis’s staged recreations.
  • “One of the reasons I wanted to pair him in this episode with Vino Rice is because... he’s really, really skilled. And he’s got the same sort of romantic nostalgia about the west operating from a different perspective.” (Dan Flores, 52:00)
• German nostalgia for the West as comic and awkward.
  • Carl Mai novels gave Europeans an “in a galaxy far, far away” fantasy about the West, often humorously at odds with reality.
• Importantly, Rice’s outsider perspective ultimately enabled honest representations—modern Blackfeet as working people—contradicting the popular myth of Indigenous disappearance.
  • “For Vino Rice, they weren’t vanishing at all. They were simply segueing into 20th century America.” (Dan Flores, 56:33)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the persistence of Western mythology:

  “Maybe writer Zane Gray captured the magic best. The Old west, he once wrote, was the last time in the history of Earth humans got to live a sensuous life in a state of nature.”
  — Dan Flores ([07:30])

• Curtis’s photographic philosophy:

  “Curtis was not photographing 80 indigenous tribes while the frontier raged on. The census had declared the frontier over a full decade before Curtis set about his project.”
  — Dan Flores ([15:45])

• On staged authenticity:

  “Of the more than 22,000 photographs in the North American Indian, a few can’t be trusted or are questionable today for other reasons. Sometimes Indians duped Curtis. Some of the Navajos did their ceremonies backwards for his camera...”
  — Dan Flores ([23:05])

• Rice’s transition from myth to modernity:

  “He produced an un portrait of a generation of native people who were no longer buffalo hunters, but ranchers who lived in clapboard houses or federal employees who drove pickups. In other words, modern Indians surviving in a West different from the old frontier.”
  — Dan Flores ([41:52])

• Summing up the West’s enduring nature:

  “The west is a place. And so it continues to have a story and a history forward into time. And that becomes to me as fascinating as ... the previous century.”
  — Dan Flores ([57:19])

Timed Highlights

• [02:23] — Introduction of the main theme: How nostalgia and myth shape perceptions of the West, and the lingering presence of the “frontier” in American identity.
• [13:45] — Unpacking Edward Curtis’s photographic mission and the fabrication controversy.
• [23:50] — Analysis of Curtis’s impact and the deeper meaning behind his work for Native communities.
• [28:03] — Shift to Vinald Rice: European fascinations with the West and arrival among the Blackfeet.
• [41:26]–[44:40] — Rice’s portraits marking the transition to a modern Native identity and the changing expectations of Western representation.
• [48:21]–[57:19] — Flores and Randall’s conversation on nostalgia, authenticity, and the “vanishing race” myth.

Episode Takeaways

• The American West, far from being a closed chapter, is a living place whose myth and history constantly interact.
• Both Curtis and Rice captured vital but competing visions of the West—one rooted in nostalgia, the other, ultimately, in contemporary reality.
• Authentic representation of Native people remains fraught, whether through artistic intention, commercial imperative, or public demand for mythic images.
• The episode challenges listeners to question what “the West” means—myth, memory, or ongoing reality—and whose narratives are privileged.

Summary prepared for listeners seeking a detailed understanding of this episode’s exploration of art, myth, and truth in the American West.