Edward Sheriff Curtis was an American photographer and ethnologist, born in 1868 near Whitewater, Wisconsin. He became well-known for his work with the indigenous peoples of North America and devoted 30 years to photographing and documenting over 80 tribes from the Mexican border to northern Alaska. His project, called The North American Indian, was completed in 1930 and consisted of 20 volumes, each containing 75 hand-pressed photogravures and approximately 300 pages of text, as well as a corresponding portfolio of at least 36 photogravures. The project received support from President Theodore Roosevelt and J. Pierpont Morgan, and Curtis also produced and directed a silent film based on the mythology of the Rawakiutl Indians of the Pacific Northwest.