100 years ago, Edward Sheriff Curtis began a 30-year odyssey to photograph and document the lives and traditions of the Native peoples of North America. In this landmark volume, almost 200 of the finest examples of Curtis's photographs are reproduced with startling fidelity to his original prints for the first time in the modern era. Following the path laid out in "The North American Indian," his 20-volume magnum opus, geographic regions are presented separately and individual tribes within each region are depicted and described. Interspersed between these sections are compelling portrayals of those aspects of life common to all the tribes; amoung them spirituality, ceremony, arts, and the activities of daily life.