Photographs of the American West: Alexander Gardner and the Treaty of Fort Laramie

Class Description

This course will explore the history of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie through images, text, and primary source documents. We will read and discuss the new book The Girl in the Middle: A Recovered History of the American West by historian Martha A. Sandweiss, following along as Sandweiss unravels a single enigmatic photograph captured during the treaty negotiations at Fort Laramie. The book discussion will be supplemented by lectures and extensive visual analysis of the photographs made by Alexander Gardner at Fort Laramie, as well as contemporaneous photographs of Native Americans.

Through guided discussion and close reading of these historical photographs, participants will gain deeper appreciation for the significant role that photographers like Gardner assumed as authors of history and contributors to an emerging visual culture, in addition to understanding the lasting implications of the Treaty of Fort Laramie for Native nations.

This course will also include a collection presentation of objects from the Newberry’s Edward E. Ayer Collection—including a selection of the large format photographs and stereographs which Alexander Gardner made at Fort Laramie in 1868.

Kristie Kahns works in the photographic field as an image-maker, writer, educator, and independent researcher. She is a 2025 Research Fellow at The Image Centre at Toronto Metropolitan University, and currently works in Publishing at the Art Institute of Chicago as a photography editor.

What to Expect

Format: In Person

Class Capacity: 18

Class Style: Mix of lecture and discussion; participation encouraged

Materials List

Required

• Martha A. Sandweiss, The Girl in the Middle: A Recovered History of the American West. Yale University Press, 2025. ISBN 978-0691238418
• Digital Course Packet

First Reading

• In the Digital Course Packet: Jane L. Aspinwall, Alexander Gardner: The Western Photographs, 1867-1868, “Chapter 3: Scenes in the Indian Country,” pp. 89-102.

A Brief Syllabus

1. Introduction to Alexander Gardner
2. Reading photographs from Alexander Gardner’s Scenes in the Indian Country
3. Reading photographs from the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie
4. The Treaty of Fort Laramie and its lasting legacy
5. Newberry Collection Presentation

Cost and Registration

5 Sessions, $255 ($229.50 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.

We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($255), Community Supported ($235), and Sponsor ($275). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.

This class also has a special 40% discount for Indigenous folks. Please email us for more information.

To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.

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