A group of Indians from La Osa Ranch posing in an automobile
in front of the Gibbs Motor Company showroom
Photographer unknown
[BANC PIC 2001.014--ALB]

RANCHING AND TRAVEL VIEWS IN ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO AND MEXICO, 1924-1928.

This photograph of a group of American Indians, dressed in native costumes and seated in a brand new American automobile, brings the traditional image of the American Indian into sharp contrast with the advances of the modern world. The continued use of the American Indian as a symbol of a vanished world is juxtaposed with the ultimate icon of post-World War I American progress, the automobile.

The travel album includes 350 black and white photographic prints of New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexican landscapes, tourist sights, and recreational attractions. Embarking on a lengthy automobile trip was an increasingly popular activity for American vacationers and tourists in the 1920s. Sightseers who chose to travel via automobile encountered a variety of western cities and towns, and they observed and photographed rodeos, parades, and civic festivities.