INDIAN COUNTRY (2001)

By 1900, the Native American population in the U.S. had been reduced by as much as 95 percent, to 250,000. Today, says photographer Gwendolen Cates, there are 2.5 million Indians, and this collection of portraits tries to show their diversity. While Cates' photos are lovely, Indian Country, like so many photographic chronicles of native peoples, proves that a picture really isn't worth a thousand words. A lengthy, well-researched introductory essay would have added crucial context to her work (and certainly more substance than Sherman Alexie's dashed-off intro). And because the book is organized geographically instead of by tribe, Cates' subjects blur together, eliding the differences between the United States' 561 nations and tribes. Indian Country honors contemporary Native Americans, but it doesn't bother to reveal much about them.