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Navajo Nation 1950
Traditional Life in Photographs
Jonathan B. Wittenberg
Foreword by Geoffrey I. Brown, Director, Navajo Nation Museum

“Jonathan B. Wittenberg’s great gallery of Navajo Country photographs took me  back to the way
it was on the “Big Rez”  when I was just back from World  War II… This is a beautiful and valuable book.”
Tony Hillerman, author, The Joe Leaphorn Series Novels

 More than fifty years ago, a young student of biochemistry and physics took his bulky,
twin-lens reflex camera on a journey through the Dinetah, the land of the Navajo people.
He entered with gifts—quartz crystals, abalone shells, and two bags of oranges—
and he left with an invaluable photographic record of a culture.

               Navajo Nation 1950 is Jonathan Wittenberg’s photographic presentation of the time he
spent on the “Rez,” where a generous people revealed to him the values and customs of their
everyday lives. Despite having no experience with professional photography, Wittenberg employed
his patience, thoughtfulness, and insatiable curiosity to produce a remarkably honest and
surprisingly gorgeous collection of black and white photographs. From stark, regal
desert landscapes to compelling portraits of weavers, dancers, and medicine men,
the land of the Dine people is revealed with thoughtful poignancy.

               With an historical perspective provided in a Foreword by Navajo Nation Museum Director
Geoffrey I. Brown and an exhaustive introduction by the author/photographer himself,
 Navajo Nation 1950 is as informative as it is visually stunning. The scenes and events described
in the photographer’s essay are more than just stories; in fact, they are more important now than ever,
in that Wittenberg is the only non-native photographer who had access to the Navajo Nation people and lands
during the years 1950-1952.  Today, access has been limited even further by The People, so some of the landscapes
 seen here can only be seen through Wittenberg’s lens. Now that half a century has passed, the traditions of the
Dine have evolved, so that extensive anecdotal and photographic records like this one become invaluable
historic documents, as well as a feast for the eyes. No other photographer is in a position to provide us with
such privileged glimpses into the Navajo culture of this era, from the dazzling songs and dances of the Enemy Way
 healing ceremony to the quiet prayers and intricate sand paintings of a traditional Shooting Chant,
including ceremonies that have never before been viewed outside of the Dinetah.

As a collection, these photographs form a gorgeous tribute to the Dine. Because Wittenberg’s experiences are
so artfully rendered, the lines between history, literature, photography, and fine art overlap in this portfolio.
Whether viewed as a photographer’s stunning print debut or a telling historical document, Navajo Nation 1950
 expertly captures the beauty of an ancient culture, letting the spirit of a people shine through the pages with
incredible elegance and candor. What began as a student’s adventure more than fifty years ago
 is now a breathtaking, inimitable exposition.

 Jonathan B. Wittenberg is a Professor Emeritus of Physiology and Biophysics at the Albert Einstein College
 of Medicine in New York City. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and his PhD from
 Columbia University. His photographs from the era in which he lived with the Navajo people can be
found in the permanent collection of the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock,
Arizona and the Heard Museum, in Phoenix, Arizona. He and his wife live in
the environs of New York City and in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Navajo Nation 1950
Traditional Life in Photographs
Jonathan B. Wittenberg

Foreword by Geoffrey I. Brown

Published by Glitterati Incorporated

Hardcover: $50.00 ISBN: 0-9777531-9-0

Specifications: 10 ¾ x 11 ½, Hardcover, 128 pages with 100 black-and-white duotone-printed photographs

Category: Photography/Native Americana/History

Publication Date: October 2006

Jonathan B. Wittenberg is available for media interviews
 and appearances through the publisher.

For more information, please contact Jessica Guerrero at

(212) 362 9119 or jguerrero@glitteratiincorporated.com

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