Scope and Contents
The Zig Jackson photograph collection consists of photographic prints taken during 1990-2009. Jackson’s work includes portraiture and documentary photography depicting traditional indigenous culture. Images feature snapshots of contemporary Native American communities and events, and offer commentary on Indian identity, land rights, sovereignty, representation, and tribal traditions. Prints show Native American ceremonies, Indian reservations, sacred sites, lodges, monuments, tourism, souvenir booths, food stands, road signs, government buildings, and urban areas.
Bodies of work represented include prints from the following series: Entering Zig’s Indian Reservation (4 prints), Veterans (3 prints), Indian Photographing Tourist Photographing Indian (10 prints), Indian Photographing Tourist Photographing Sacred Sites (3 prints), Reservation Signs (12 prints), Indian Man in San Francisco (8 prints), and Degradation (1 print). Photos were taken at Indian reservations and other regions across the United States. Examples include Crow Agency in Montana, Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota, and across states such as Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina and California, among many others.
There are 89 original black and white prints of varying sizes. Sizes include prints measuring 11 x 11" (3 prints), 10 x 8" (16 prints), and 14 x 11” (70 prints). The materials are foldered and housed in 1 flat box. The prints are arranged into five series by topic established by the processing archivist. Existing bodies of work established by the photographer were used to help guide the outline for each series. All prints include handwritten titles provided by the photographer describing the topic, location, and date for each print.
Dates
- 1990-2009
Creator
- Jackson, Zig, 1957- (Photographer, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open to the public.
Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room.
Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
Collection is available online in the Zig Jackson Photographs in Oregon Digital.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs.
All requests for permission to publish collection materials must be submitted to Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.
Biographical / Historical
Zig Jackson (b.1957- ) is an artist and photographer teaching at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Georgia. An enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes—Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara, he grew up on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. He holds a B.S. in education from Northeastern Oklahoma State University and M.F.A. in photography from the San Francisco Art Institute.
In addition to SCAD, Jackson has taught photography at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), Santa Fe; San Francisco State University; and the University of California, Davis. His work has been shown throughout the U.S. and abroad and is represented in public and private collections, including those of the Jonson Gallery (University of New Mexico), IAIA, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Joslyn Art Museum, SF MoMA, and SCAD. In 2004, Jackson became the first Native American to be represented in the collection of the National Library of Congress—as artist rather than subject—when the Prints and Photographs Division acquired a number of his images.
As an indigenous artist, Jackson uses photography to document the ever-changing landscape of contemporary Native America—from city to reservation to casino to oil country—and deconstruct the common myths and misconceptions that persist to the present day. Although people are inundated with images of Native Americans in the media and consumer society, Jackson observes that Indians still remain a mystery to mainstream America. Many continue to see Native Americans as “a people forgotten by time”—the Noble Savage,” stoic warrior, buckskin-clad maiden, or all-knowing shaman. Jackson’s images reveal a far different reality—one of a people in transition, at once struggling and thriving in the midst of a constantly changing technological world.
Source:
Jackson, Zig. 2021. “Personal Statement.” Correspondence with the University of Oregon’s Special Collections and University Archives.
Extent
1.5 linear feet (1 container) : 1 (18 x 13") flat box
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Zig Jackson (b.1957- ) is a Native artist and photographer who grew up on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. An enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes—Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara, Jackson currently teaches at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Georgia. His work has been widely exhibited and published. This collection (1990-2009) contains 89 black and white prints taken at Indian reservations and other regions across the United States. The prints feature documentary photography of contemporary Native American communities and events, and offer commentary on Indian identity, land rights, sovereignty, representation, and tribal traditions.
Arrangement
The Zig Jackson photographs are arranged into five series by topic established by the processing archivist:
Series 1: Road signs, food stands, and souvenirs, 1991-2007
Series 2: Entering Zig's Indian Reservation, Indian Man in San Francisco, and Degradation, 1990-2004
Series 3: Reservation signs, 1990-2009
Series 4: Indian Photographing Tourist Photographing Sacred Sites and Indians,1992-2005
Series 5: Veterans, Tribal people, Spirit, and Ceremonies,1998-2004
Existing bodies of work established by the photographer were used to help guide the outline for each series. Almost all prints include hand-written titles provided by the photographer describing the topic, location, and date for each print.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchase from Zig Jackson on 2021 June 24.
Existence and Location of Copies
Collection is available online in the Zig Jackson Photographs in Oregon Digital.
Condition Description
Materials are in good condition. Photographs are slightly curved at the edges.
- Documentary photography Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Indian photographers Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Indian reservations Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Indians of North America Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Indians of North America--Rites and ceremonies Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Guide to the Zig Jackson Photographs
- Status
- Complete Description
- Author
- Leslie Harka
- Date
- 2021
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Repository
