A Colonial Shadow: Representations of the American Colonial West through Picture Postcards
Una sombra colonial: representaciones del oeste colonial americano a través de las postales ilustradas
Edward Owen Teggin
Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang
Ahmad Ginanjar Purnawibawa
University of Naples – L’Orientale / Ganesha. University of Education
Enviado: 09/03/2025
Aceptado: 27/05/2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33732/RDGC.16.118
Abstract
This study investigates the role of picture postcards in perpetuating Orientalist and colonial narratives during European imperialism and U.S. westward expansion. Using Edward Saïd’s concept of Orientalism and Homi Bhabha’s theory of colonial stereotypes, it explores how these postcards functioned as tools of symbolic domination by portraying colonized peoples through reductive and static representations. In the American context, postcards of Native Americans often adhered to the "noble savage" stereotype, emphasizing traditional practices while erasing historical and social nuance. Such imagery reinforced a dichotomy of civilization versus savagery, framing indigenous peoples as incompatible with modernity and legitimizing their dispossession. By contextualizing these postcards within broader colonial ideologies, this study underscores their role in sustaining systems of domination and shaping enduring perceptions of colonized and Indigenous peoples.
Keywords
Picture Postcards, Native American Stereotypes, Settler Colonialism, Symbolic Erasure, Colonial Discourses.
Resumen
Este estudio investiga el papel de las postales ilustradas en la perpetuación de las narrativas orientalistas y coloniales durante el imperialismo europeo y la expansión hacia el oeste de Estados Unidos. Utilizando el concepto de orientalismo de Edward Saïd y la teoría de los estereotipos coloniales de Homi Bhabha, explora cómo estas postales funcionaron como herramientas de dominación simbólica al retratar a los pueblos colonizados mediante representaciones reductivas y estáticas. En el contexto estadounidense, las postales de nativos americanos a menudo se adherían al estereotipo del «noble salvaje», haciendo hincapié en las prácticas tradicionales y borrando los matices históricos y sociales. Estas imágenes reforzaban la dicotomía entre civilización y salvajismo, presentando a los pueblos indígenas como incompatibles con la modernidad y legitimando su desposesión. Al contextualizar estas postales dentro de ideologías coloniales más amplias, este estudio subraya su papel en el mantenimiento de los sistemas de dominación y en la formación de percepciones duraderas de los pueblos colonizados e indígenas.
Palabras clave
Postales ilustradas, estereotipos nativos americanos, colonialismo de colonos, borrado simbólico, discursos coloniales.
Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución-CompartirIgual 4.0. CC BY
INTRODUCTION
The concept of Orientalism has profoundly influenced postcolonial discourse in recent decades. Introduced by Edward Saïd (1979) in his landmark work Orientalism, this theoretical framework is widely understood as a mechanism through which Western audiences asserted symbolic authority and dominance over the ‘Orient’ and the people who lived there. Central to this process was the accumulation and dissemination of knowledge, or what was often framed as knowledge, about the Orient, which served to construct and reinforce a distinction between the Orient and the Occident1. Modernity, shaped heavily by Enlightenment ideologies, played a pivotal role in this process as 'modern' Western societies increasingly characterized traditional, non-Western societies as inferior or backward. This framework constructed a narrative of civilization versus savagery, lending credence to a sort of ‘civilizing mission’, a particularly prominent discourse in Europe during the era of widespread colonial expansion (Pomeranz, 2005; Szabla, 2023).
Within the broader theoretical canon, the present study posits that while textual and verbal Orientalist narratives, as forms of knowledge production, served as potent tools of control, visual and artistic representations were equally as important in shaping and perpetuating colonial and Orientalist narratives. Picture postcards, for example, provide a compelling medium through which these dynamics can be observed. The images presented on postcards were deliberately curated by photographers and editors to align with the expectations and preconceptions of their intended audiences. This practice resonates with Christopher Pinney’s (1992) assertion that photographs, despite their static and ostensibly neutral appearance, are imbued with meaning and communicate complex messages. The use of postcards as objects for study and dissemination in such a way is part of a much wider field that includes multidisciplinary uses and expertise, with studies by scholars such as Hughes and Stevenson (2019), Junge (2019), and Khan (2018) providing a solid foundation to build upon. More recently, Purnawibawa and Yasa (2024) have discussed the innovative use of colonial photographs as a means of reconstructing historical narratives.
One interpretation of such visual media is that it reinforced existing stereotypes, functioning as a symbolic discourse where knowledge and representation operated as instruments of authority. This authority, frequently centred within metropolitan contexts, allowed dominant groups to shape perceptions of colonial life and reify existing power dynamics. By emphasizing the exotic or the traditional, creators of these images reinforced preexisting Orientalist narratives, embedding them more deeply into the cultural consciousness of their audience (Mohanty, 1988: 62-3; Parry, 1987: 28-30)2. Furthermore, the textual inscriptions often found on the reverse of these postcards amplified their role as tools of symbolic domination. Messages written by tourists or settlers frequently articulated specific views about the regions or people depicted, framing these observations as authoritative accounts based on direct experience or proximity. This practice aligns with Saïd’s (1979: 36) argument that the production of knowledge about the other serves to assert control and establish cultural superiority.
The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, characterized by significant European colonial expansion and the westward expansion of the United States, coincided with the growth of the postcard manufacturing industry and the mass consumption of picture postcards as material culture (Spennemann, 2021: 1465-6). In this context, postcards became a widely accessible medium for documenting and disseminating exoticized representations of colonized peoples to metropolitan audiences. In the American setting, the use of Native American imagery on postcards aligned with broader colonial ideologies that sought to portray indigenous peoples as relics of a bygone era. Throughout the twentieth century, these communities were frequently represented in carefully staged visual media emphasizing traditional attire, cultural practices, or stoic expressions, often devoid of historical or cultural nuance (Eason, 2018; Mihelich, 2001). Effectively, such portrayals reduced vibrant and multifaceted cultures to static symbols of supposed primitivism and otherness. This reductionist narrative served to justify their exclusion and subjugation while reinforcing the superiority of settler society. In contrast, postcards demonstrating, and indeed commemorating, the colonial and migratory process of settlers crossing the Prairie to reshape the west into their own vision were also circulated. The widespread distribution of postcards further embedded these representations into the cultural fabric of dominant settler groups, normalizing and perpetuating these narratives.
The long nineteenth century was also a period in which American society and political ambition turned their gaze westward and saw great potential in the settling of new lands. The frontier thesis, put forward by Frederick Jackson Turner in 1893, held that the process of settling and transforming the western frontier was a decisive factor in the formation of American society and distinguishing it from other world powers. This was a part of the so-called Manifest Destiny paradigm used to justify western expansion, as well as the colonial implications that came with it (Sobol, 2017: 160-1). Manifest Destiny was ultimately tied up in concepts of American exceptionalism, with a belief in superior American morality, industry, faith and racial qualities. This latter point is of particular interest to the present study, given the weight of racial thinking guiding the structuring of early American nationalism (Harvey, 2016). The beginning of the twentieth century also saw the growth of the eugenic movement and the greater adoption of its beliefs in the United States. Tying very strongly into Manifest Destiny and the belief in the superiority of people descending from Northern European white ancestors, eugenic beliefs actively denigrated diverse others in North America. Prejudicial racial profiling was applied to many segments, including African Americans, Native Americans, as well as European immigrants from southern and eastern Europe (Pierce, 2016: 65-7; Helstern, 2007: 255-6). As we shall see, the othering of diverse others, such as Native Americans, was a key component in constructing the narrative of American exceptionalism.
The visual representation of Native Americans on postcards frequently presented a romanticized yet reductive depiction that framed indigenous peoples as exotic and inherently out of place in a ‘modern’ world. Staged photographs featuring Native Americans in ceremonial attire or performing traditional activities were crafted to evoke a sense of authenticity while simultaneously aligning with Western expectations. A similar practice can be seen with the staging and replication of heavily romanticized cowboy narratives in visual and textual format, in which the cowboy is depicted as being emblematic of American freedom, masculinity and strength (Teggin & Utami, 2024: 136-7)3. Such selective framing reinforced the notion that indigenous peoples were anachronistic and incapable of adapting to modernity, thereby legitimizing the displacement and marginalization central to settler colonialism. Such representations also allow stereotypical discourses surrounding aspects such as alcoholism, spiritualism and wealth to enter broader discussions (Orr et al, 2022; Utami, 2020).
METHODOLOGY
As Ferguson (2005) discusses, the use of postcards as primary sources for analyzing historical phenomena and academic discourse remains a subject of debate and critique. However, the commodification of specific postcard genres and their sustained market presence indicate a contemporary societal interest in the themes they portray. As Peterson (1985: 167-8) asserts, postcards distil the prevailing images of their time, embedding cultural significance in their selected themes. Prochaska (1991: 40-7; 98) further echoes this sentiment, emphasizing that commercial photographs, including postcards, offer insights into the market dynamics, the consumers who purchased them, and their collective mentality. The value of postcards, therefore, lies not in their originality but in their very lack of it—they reflect and reinforce the dominant ideologies and cultural expectations of their time.
This study employs a qualitative visual analysis of eight picture postcards from a private archive, spanning different periods of the twentieth century. These postcards are examined in two primary thematic categories:
The first theme, The Representation of American Westward Migration, investigates how postcards glorified frontier life and cowboy mythology to construct a heroic narrative of settler expansion. The study explores how these images reinforced national myths that legitimized territorial conquest and Indigenous dispossession.
The second theme, The Commodification and Symbolic Erasure of Indigenous Peoples, critically analyze and explores how Native American subjects were represented in static, exoticized ways that perpetuated colonial stereotypes. These depictions often stripped Indigenous peoples of agency and historical presence, aligning with broader imperial discourse that sought to render them as relics of vanishing past.
In addition to visual analysis, this study examines the textual inscriptions on postcards, assessing how the language used reinforced and complemented their visual messages. By integrating perspectives from visual culture studies, postcolonial theory, and historiography, this research situates these postcards within broader imperial and settler-colonial discourses. While they may lack detailed historical evidence of everyday cultural and social life, these postcards serve as effective tools for understanding colonial power structures and prevailing attitudes toward Native Americans at the time.
THE GLORIFIED DEPICTION OF WESTWARD MIGRATION AND THE COWBOY
In the middle of the nineteenth century, the westward expansion of the United States was driven by a complex interplay of economic, social, political, and ideological factors. Pioneers journeyed to the American West in pursuit of opportunities for land acquisition, economic prosperity, and personal freedom, while also contributing to the broader goals of territorial expansion and manifest destiny, the belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across the North American continent. In this way, the west was seen as a sort of Edenic paradise ripe for American settlers to move onto and shape according to American societal needs and ideals (Paul, 2014: 312-4). This did, however, presuppose that the western landscape was empty of existing societies and peoples. Turner’s (1989: 2-4) argument in this respect was that the settling and colonizing the American West would represent the victory of the American people over nature and that the process would contribute to the reforging of society into something new that was far removed from European empires, royalty and aristocracy. The practice, of course, also involved the seizure of land and the forced settling of territory, leading to displacement and violence against indigenous peoples (Taniguchi, 2004: 28-9).
The nineteenth century, being a time of great social dislocation as numerous peoples were brought together in the creation of the modern United States, was also a time of great economic experimentation (Olund, 2002: 103-2). In an era when land and metropolitan capital were very closely tied together in the creation of wealth, something which had also driven the creation of empire in the preceding early modern period, social formations such as Manifest Destiny also combined with economic paradigms such as Henry Clay’s ‘American System’. As Faulkner (1929) and Van Atta (2001) have discussed, Clay’s system was devised to unite the United States with a codified agricultural doctrine based on a national interest. Protectionist tariffs on imported goods were a mainstay of this policy. Combined with Manifest Destiny, such policies greatly contributed to the growth of American nationalism at the turn of the twentieth century, with the need for more land a key driving force. As Bender (2006: 45-6) has discussed, this has contributed to an uncomfortable reality for Americans when considering their history, with violence against indigenous populations contributing to a so-called uniquely ‘American’ way of conducting empire. This is something that Mackenthun (2000: 36-7) has also discussed to great effect in terms of the United States’ ‘internal colonialism of North America.
The primary motivation for many migrants was the promise of land and a brighter personal future. The U.S. government, through acts such as the Homestead Act of 1862, offered large tracts of land to settlers at minimal costs, effectively encouraging the migration westward (Muhammad et al, 2024: 96-7). Land was seen as a means of achieving economic independence, particularly in a period when agricultural production was central to the economy. For many families, the acquisition of land represented not only a financial opportunity but also a chance to establish a self-sufficient lifestyle far removed from the overcrowded and often economically depressed mid-Western states. The journey across the Prairie was not an easy one, however, and a great number of preparations were necessary ahead of the trip. Many emigrants were not used to outdoor lifestyles and had never handled livestock before, so there was often a steep learning curve for them when fitting out at jumping-off towns in the Missouri River valley (Ahmad, 2012: 166; Teggin, 2022: 142-5).
In addition to land, the discovery of gold in California and Montana precipitated the famous nineteenth-century gold rushes, attracting thousands of miners and entrepreneurs seeking wealth. Kent Curtis (2009: 278) has highlighted, however, that it was often the case that the presence of gold had already been established in the West before the knowledge became widespread. This ‘discovery’ narrative then fostered a kind of economic bubble driven by entrepreneurial interests in the metropolitan East of America, leading to the widespread migration of fortune hunters. Religious and ideological motivations also played a significant role in the westward movement. Many pioneers viewed their migration as a utopian or religious mission to spread Christianity or establish moral communities in the frontier. The Mormon community famously migrated to Utah, from their home in Nauvoo, Illinois, to escape religious persecution in the eastern United States and to establish a theocratic society (Clark, 2014: 90-1; Hallwas, 1990: 53-4). The Icarian experiment, establishing societies modelled as socialist utopias in Illinois, Iowa and Texas, is also another example of highly specific migration that occurred during the long nineteenth century4.
As can be gathered, there were a multitude of reasons why individuals and families might have taken the decision to migrate westwards and populate the seemingly empty territories. In agreement with Lucy Mayblin and Joe Turner (2021: 1-2), this study sees the act of migration in this sphere as explicitly tied up in the colonial process, something that Mayblin and Turner have flagged as being an underappreciated element within the history of colonialism. The narrative that these lands were as yet unclaimed is, however, a key part of our discussion. Whereas the American nation, influenced by the spread of modernity, saw the land as lacking civilization as there were no towns, amenities or infrastructure, the land had been the home of indigenous peoples for thousands of years. The American interest was to remove these people to expand further and settle the land. However, the removal of the populace was only one element. In order to more effectively transform the setting, it was necessary to also control the narrative and to portray American settlers as pioneers who bravely crossed the North American continent to settle untamed lands (Adas, 2001: 1693-5). The commemoration of such activity can be witnessed in many picture postcards; Figure 1, below, is one such example.
Figure 1. Postcard sent from Mrs. C. Schank to Mrs. M. Blum, 17 September 1909
Figure 1, a postcard depicting a group of Prairie migrants encamped near a covered wagon, provides a rich source for commentary within the frameworks of colonial discourse, visual representation, and cultural historiography. The central focus of the image is the group of settlers, arranged in a semicircle around a campfire with their covered wagon, a hallmark of westward expansion during the nineteenth century, prominently positioned behind them. This composition evokes the romanticized ideal of the supposed pioneer spirit, highlighting themes of unity, industriousness, and self-reliance. In line with Heike Paul’s (2014: 312-4) discussion, the natural setting, with rolling hills and open skies, further underscores the ideological narrative of the frontier as a boundless and fertile space awaiting transformation by settler ingenuity. A critical aspect of the image is its erasure of the indigenous peoples whose lands were systematically expropriated and cultures displaced during westward expansion. The comparatively new line of investigation called colonial erasure, for the purposes of this study, refers to the intentional suppression of culture, identity, and religious practices5.
By presenting the landscape as uninhabited and ripe for settlement, the postcard presents a typical colonial message. The absence of Indigenous representation perpetuates the myth of an empty frontier, erasing the violence and dispossession central to the expansionist project. This omission naturalizes the settlers’ claim to the land and obfuscates the broader context of colonial domination, with the narrative of a constantly receding area of ‘free land’ holding sway (Smith, 1950: 4-5). The idyllic framing of the camp scene aligns with the broader romanticization of the American West during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Postcards such as this were not merely visual artefacts but tools of cultural production that commodified the frontier experience for metropolitan audiences. By distilling the complexities of westward expansion into a digestible and nostalgic image, such representations functioned as vehicles for both ideological dissemination and commercial gain. They celebrated the pioneer as a heroic figure, thereby legitimizing the historical processes of conquest and displacement. This, David Johnson (1981: 479-81) has contended, is tied to the need to look towards these narratives as a form of personal regeneration and mastery. This homogenization serves to present the settlers as unified protagonists in a grand national narrative, obscuring the complexities of class, gender, and ethnicity that shaped the realities of pioneer life. This, of course, was an exaggeration akin to that of the cowboy myth discussed by Don Walker (1977: 276-9).
Whereas Figure 1 was an older postcard from the early twentieth century, displaying a postmark for 1909, Figure 2 is a much more modern example intended for a popular tourist market as a means of commemorating the Oregon Trail. It employs cartographic and illustrative elements to celebrate the narrative of westward expansion in mid-nineteenth-century America while simultaneously airbrushing significant aspects of the historical realities it seeks to portray. This fits within the growing scholarly field investigating cowboy or Western tourism, with scholars such as Forest Wagner (2024), Susan Rhoades Neel (1996), and David Wrobel and Patrick Long (2001) having made valuable contributions. The map prominently marks the route from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon, following the famed Oregon Trail. This framing aligns with the ideological construct of Manifest Destiny, which posited that westward expansion was a natural and divinely ordained process. The visual emphasis on an unbroken red line reinforces the notion of a cohesive, predetermined journey, erasing the physical, social, and political barriers encountered along the way. By presenting the trail as a singular trajectory, the map simplifies the multifaceted experiences of settlers, obscuring the hardships, conflicts, and failures that characterized many emigrants’ journeys.
Figure 2. Postcard of ‘Oregon Trail Map’, Lantern Press, Seattle, Image 49066
The inclusion of pastoral imagery, such as buffalo grazing and pioneers panning for gold, romanticizes the West as a land of abundance and opportunity. These vignettes celebrate the rugged individualism and industrious spirit often associated with settlers, contributing to the mythic construction of the American frontier. Well-known examples of settlers who left behind travel journals and diaries which chronicle elements of this narrative include Sarah Raymond Herndon (1902), Fitz Hugh Ludlow (1870), and G.W. Thissell (1903). The presence of the covered wagon, a recurring symbol of settler expansion, anchors the imagery in a nostalgic vision of pioneer life. However, this romanticization excludes critical considerations of the ecological destruction wrought by expansion, including the near-extinction of bison populations, and the impact of settler incursions on indigenous lands and livelihoods. This is tied to the work of Alfred Crosby (1972; 1986) on ecological imperialism and the subjugation of both peoples and their environments via the colonial process. One of the most striking absences in this map is the representation of indigenous peoples. The depiction of the landscape as empty and awaiting settlement perpetuates the settler colonial idea that the land was unoccupied and available for claim. This erasure legitimizes the processes of land dispossession, cultural erasure, and systemic violence that facilitated westward expansion. It reinforces what Saïd had termed "imaginative geography”, wherein the cartographer’s gaze constructs a space that conforms to imperialist ideologies while suppressing counter-narratives of resistance and survival. This is a theoretical grounding that continues to be valuable today in debates ranging from climate justice to literary studies (Dawson, 2013: 34-6; Kelley, 2005: 362-3).
Figure 2’s ornate border and idealized illustrations suggest its function is as a piece of commemorative material culture, serving as a cultural artefact that commodifies the history of the Oregon Trail for modern consumption. This transformation of a complex historical process into a consumable narrative reflects broader trends in commercializing history, where nuanced realities are often subordinated to simplistic and celebratory portrayals. As a pedagogical tool, this map shapes collective memory by valorizing the settler experience and reinforcing national myths about the West being some kind of rural paradise ready for settlement (Paul, 2014: 314). Its selective inclusion of imagery, such as gold prospecting, aligns with broader narratives of progress and prosperity, while its omissions, being indigenous resistance, settler conflicts, and environmental impacts, reveal the ideological underpinnings of its production. We must also consider White’s (1993: 3-4) assertion that the West was an imagined creation brought to life through the long-term intermingling of different social groups. Given that the settling of this imagined space is so closely tied to American national identity, descended through narratives such as Manifest Destiny and Turner’s frontier thesis, it is no surprise that cultural ephemera such as Figure 2 were designed through this nationalist viewpoint.
The settler and migratory narratives are only one element of the discourse at work. As mentioned earlier, there is also the mythic figure of the cowboy and his meaning to the American public psyche. Figure 3, below, depicting cattle branding on the prairie, serves as a visual artefact that engages with and perpetuates the mythos of the American cowboy. Figure 4, also below, is the reverse of Figure 3. The central figures in the foreground—cowboys engaged in branding cattle—invoke the myth of the cowboy as a rugged, self-reliant, and heroic figure. This myth, deeply embedded in American cultural memory, celebrates the cowboy as a symbol of individualism and frontier masculinity. However, this idealized depiction simplifies and romanticizes the labour-intensive reality of cattle ranching, reducing the participants to archetypes rather than historical agents. Don Walker (1960: 310-2) has also expressed the opinion that the rancher, and not the cowboy, was the true main character of the Western scenario. The handwritten note on the card, a casual inquiry about cattle work, juxtaposes the personal with the mythic, suggesting that the everyday labour of the cowboy could be imbued with broader cultural resonance. The societal expectation, of course, was driven by stereotypical visions of young men venturing west to seek their fortunes, with the nationalistic touchpoints of Manifest Destiny and the so-called ‘American Dream’ strongly resonating (Atherton, 1961: 2-4; Miller, 1974: 114-5).
Figure 3. Postcard sent to Mr. H. McFadden, 31 August 1908. Photo by Chas E. Morris
Figure 4. Reverse of Figure 3
The postcard's focus on branding, a practice emblematic of cattle ranching, highlights the commodification of both animals and labour within the expanding capitalist economy of the American West. Branding represents the assertion of ownership over cattle, mirroring the broader processes of land enclosure and privatization accompanying westward expansion. While central to the cattle industry, the cowboys in the image are depicted as subservient to the economic system they sustain, performing physical labour for the benefit of larger ranching enterprises. The romanticization of cowboy labour obscures the often-exploitative conditions under which many ranch hands worked, as well as the racial and ethnic diversity of the cowboy workforce, which also included Mexican, African American, and indigenous cowboys (Gandy, 2008: 189-93).
The vast, open landscape in the background once again reinforces the perception of the prairie as a Turnerian blank slate, a space awaiting human intervention and productivity. This visual framing aligns with settler colonial ideologies that justified the displacement of indigenous peoples and the appropriation of their lands, and coincides with the concepts of both Manifest Destiny and the Clay system. The image omits any reference to the violent processes of conquest and dispossession that enabled cattle ranching to flourish, presenting the prairie as a neutral setting rather than a contested space. As a postcard, this image functions as both a documentary and a commercial object. Its role as a souvenir of the West commodifies the cowboy myth, catering to an audience eager to consume idealized representations of frontier life. However, the commodification of this image also reflects how the cowboy myth has been detached from its historical realities, transformed into a consumable narrative that obscures the complexities of labour, race, and power in the American West. The element of commodification is also interesting in terms of Figure 4, below, which demonstrates the American interest in terms of original photographer, recipient, and postmark, but raises a curiosity through the ‘Made in Germany’ stamp at the bottom right. This is likely due to Germany’s leading role in the global photographic and postcard industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; indeed, the German postal service was the first, in 1885, to allow the production and posting of picture postcards without imprinted stamps (Spennemann, 2023: 3326).
Despite the idealization and allusion to a peaceful ecological setting, the western frontier was a time of great social and economic upheaval during the long nineteenth century. As settlers from the east populated the western territories, economic needs became more pronounced and regular commercial traffic across the Prairie was needed. Wagon trains along the trails often fulfilled the need for both commercial and emigration needs before the widespread availability of railways6. This can be seen in Figure 5 and Figure 7, below. Figure 5 highlights the centrality of animals and manual labour in pre-industrial modes of transportation before railroads and automobiles became dominant. The depiction of the caravan illustrates the adaptability and endurance required to move goods across the expansive and often hostile terrain of the West, reflecting the foundational role of commerce in knitting remote agricultural economies into effective supply chains. The reliance on horse power emphasizes the labour-intensive nature of overland commerce. Each horse and wagon driver played a vital role in this economic system, with animals serving as essential yet underappreciated components of the capitalist expansion. As Diana Ahmad (2012: 165-7) has highlighted, effective care for animals on the Western trails was essential for a successful journey and was often the difference between life and death for travellers. Unlike romanticized portrayals of cowboys or settlers, this image centres on the physicality and collective effort required to transport goods, challenging narratives that reduce economic development to individual heroism. Prior to the coming of the railroads the vulnerability of wagon trains to attack was also a regular fear. This was often seen through the lens of Native Americans carrying out violence against American migrants; Thissell (1903: 62-3) and Ludlow (1870: 30-1) commented upon alleged atrocities in their diaries, whereas Herndon (1902: 73) and Porter (1910: 65-6) instead commented on negative stereotypical facets of Native American society.
Figure 5. Postcard sent to Mr. F. Clark from Ms. A. Tallinadge, 23 November 1908, W.T. Ridgely Press, Great Falls
Figure 6. Reverse of Figure 5
The landscape, while vast and seemingly untamed, shows signs of human intrusion and transformation. The beaten trail in the foreground marks the repetitive motion of trade routes, carving human activity into the environment. Most notably, of course, caravans of migrants heading West in large numbers from the 1840s onwards (Faragher & Stansell, 1975: 150). Overland trade networks, such as the one depicted, facilitated the ecological reorganization of the West, as indigenous grasslands gave way to the demands of ranching, farming, and commerce. This transformation was part of a broader settler colonial project that displaced indigenous peoples and restructured the region's ecosystems to prioritize capitalist production. The wool caravan, depicted in the photograph as an organized enterprise, contrasts with traditional frontier imagery that celebrates individualism and self-reliance. Whereas some wagons did travel alone along the trail, it was far more common for wagons to travel in large wagon trains under the direction of an experienced train captain (Herndon, 1902: 74-5; McDougall Gordon, 1983: 19; Thissell, 1903: 20-2). This image suggests that the frontier was not simply a space of rugged independence but a site of large-scale economic activity and systemic exploitation of labour and resources. The commodification of the West, seen here in the transportation of wool as a raw material, reflected the integration of frontier economies into national and global markets, reshaping both the cultural and physical landscapes of the region.
Similarly to Figure 5, Figure 7, below, suggests a connection to overland commerce through the inclusion of pack animals, which were vital to the movement of goods across the western frontier. Before the proliferation of railroads in remote areas, pack animals were the primary means of transporting commodities such as furs, minerals, and other resources extracted from these regions. Montana's economy during this period was heavily reliant on industries like mining, trapping, and logging, and this image symbolizes the logistical efforts required to support those industries. The depiction of the vast and seemingly untouched wilderness aligns with narratives of exploration and the allure of the unknown that fuelled American expansionism. The western mountains, such as those in Montana, were frequently depicted as both obstacles and opportunities. They presented significant challenges to transportation and trade but also attracted explorers, geologists, and entrepreneurs seeking to capitalize on their mineral wealth and other resources7.
Figure 7. Postcard sent to Ms. J. Tailor, 12 November 1908, Red Lodge Drug Co., Publishing, Red Lodge, Montana
Figure 8. Reverse of Figure 7
THE CREATION OF ‘KNOWLEDGE’ AND THE COMMODIFICATION OF NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE
The repetitive depiction of Native Americans in narrow and unchanging visual narratives rendered their identities static and monolithic, erasing their agency and obscuring their capacity for self-representation. Moreover, these depictions deliberately omitted any acknowledgment of indigenous resistance or adaptation to settler encroachment, instead portraying Native Americans as passive objects of colonial encounters. Pinney’s (1992: 78) observation that photographs are never silent is particularly relevant in analyzing such picture postcards as instruments of symbolic domination. The narratives conveyed through these images were ideologically driven and designed to communicate particular messages about power, identity, and control. Negative stereotypes, such as the harmful myth of the ‘lazy’ native were common in colonial spheres, for example (Alatas, 1977). By foregrounding the exotic and the traditional, these representations not only affirmed the dominance of settler societies but also marginalized indigenous voices and perspectives.
For metropolitan audiences, these postcards functioned as both evidence of colonial conquest and as objects of curiosity. The act of viewing and circulating these images symbolically reinforced settler control over Native American identities, reducing them to consumable artefacts. This normalization of indigenous representation as a colonial spectacle further entrenched the idea that Native Americans were subjects to be studied and categorized, rather than active participants in their own histories. Additionally, the textual elements inscribed on postcards played a crucial role in shaping perceptions. Written messages often framed Indigenous practices or appearances within narratives of exoticism or primitiveness, positioning the writer as an authority with exclusive knowledge of the depicted subjects. This aligns with Saïd’s (1979: 36) assertion that the production and dissemination of knowledge about the other serve as powerful tools for control. This is an important consideration given the status of Native American people in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century, and connects to the racial aspects of American state building (Harvey, 2016). Manifest Destiny and a belief in American exceptionalism influenced a great deal of twentieth-century cultural identity in the United States, and are legacies which are still felt in today’s political climate.
Although there were advancements in terms of rights and protections for Native Americans in the early twentieth century, the granting of citizenship in 1924, for example, these were still dictated by the establishment. While the granting of citizenship could be seen as a positive step, it might also be viewed in terms of citizenship being imposed upon Native American communities. Treglia (2013: 778-9) has discussed this in terms of the United States government desiring a period of wardship for Native American peoples, and that the expectation was that certain aspects of tribal community would be expunged in return due to tribal lifestyles being incompatible with United States citizenship. The rights that went with citizenship, most notably fundamental aspects such as eligibility to vote and participate in elections, were also not uniformly conferred on Native Americans. States such as Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and South Dakota withheld suffrage for Native Americans well into the middle of the twentieth century, and it was only with the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that voting rights were more fully protected (Schroedel & Aslanian, 2015; Ferguson-Bohnee, 2020). It is with this knowledge in mind that the creation, staging and circulation of cultural ephemera such as postcards featuring Native Americans can be seen as perpetuating colonial-era stereotypes and nationalistic racism against Native American communities along the lines of the work of Shanklin (2000), Horsman (1975), and Harvey (2016).
Figure 9, below, is staged in a formal setting, emphasizing traditional attire, decorative pottery, and symbolic artefacts. This staging of indigeneity and heritage is connected to what Katrina Phillips (2021) has termed as “salvage tourism”, a combination of tourism, heritage, nostalgia and authenticity aimed at creating entertainment and economic gain. While the composition ostensibly celebrates Indigenous identity, it also reflects the colonial gaze, the framing device that positions Indigenous culture as an exoticised object of curiosity and documentation for external consumption. This process of visual representation often isolates individuals from their lived realities, reducing complex cultural identities to archetypes (Sugrue, 2012: 62-3). The decorative pottery, for example, highlights craftsmanship but is presented as an aesthetic token rather than as a functional or spiritual object within its original cultural framework. Such staging aligns with colonial tendencies to appropriate and commodify indigenous artefacts, detaching them from their social and ritual significance. The subjects’ inclusion in a staged and artificial setting creates a sanitized, ahistorical portrayal of Indigenous life that omits the realities of displacement, forced assimilation, and cultural suppression during the colonial period. The formalized poses and Eurocentric framing serve to contain and neutralize Indigenous agency, suggesting a "civilized" version of Indigenous identity that conforms to colonial narratives and emphasizes the alleged need for a civilizing mission (Pomeranz, 2005). Figure 9, therefore, does not serve as a true representation of the couple’s individuality or cultural autonomy but as a curated artifact that reinforces colonial domination by relegating Indigenous identity to the past.
Figure 9. Postcard sent to Mr. and Mrs. Plimpton, 13 March 1980, Old West Collectors Series, Kustom Quality, El Paso, Texas
The photograph, an older creation republished in 1980 for a contemporary audience, perpetuates the colonial mythic view of indigenous peoples as both noble and doomed, bound to an idyllic and static past. This myth fosters a narrative that justifies colonial domination by portraying Indigenous cultures as destined to fade in the face of modernity, an extension of the negative stereotyping and discourses often applied to indigenous populations (Thakur, 2012: 242-3). By fixating on traditional elements and omitting evidence of contemporary adaptation or resistance, the image enforces a narrative of decline and loss. Crucially, the photograph erases the historical context of colonial domination, including land dispossession, forced assimilation policies such as residential schools, and the suppression of Indigenous languages and spiritual practices. The focus on material artefacts and clothing redirects attention away from the systemic violence and exploitation that characterized colonial rule, allowing viewers to appreciate the image as an artefact of cultural nostalgia rather than a document of resistance or survival. Similar arguments have been made by Gustav Westberg (2021) in his discussion of the experience of the Sámi culture in Sweden.
The commodification of Indigenous culture through postcards underscores the economic dimensions of colonial domination. By transforming Native American imagery into a marketable commodity, these postcards reinforced and profited from the unequal power dynamics between settlers and Indigenous communities. The economic benefits of this commodification were overwhelmingly concentrated in the hands of non-Indigenous creators and distributors, while Indigenous individuals were excluded from both the process and its profits. This dynamic reflects broader patterns of cultural appropriation, wherein dominant groups exploit marginalized cultures for their own gain, often erasing or marginalizing the original creators (Cattien & Stopford, 2023: 1061-4). The transformation of Native American culture into a consumable spectacle for metropolitan audiences, such as the example in figure 10, below, not only perpetuated colonial dominance but also contributed to the erasure of indigenous agency. Figure 10 is another image republished commercially in the 1980s for a contemporary audience.
Figure 10. Postcard entitled ‘Iron Breast’, Photograph by Edward S. Curtis (1900), Postcard Published by AZUSA, Denver, Colorado (1989)
This striking image captures an indigenous man dressed in ceremonial regalia, again photographed in a staged, studio-like setting. The act of staging Indigenous subjects in a controlled environment symbolizes the reduction of complex cultural identities into simplified and static "types", and returns to Phillips’ (2021) notion of salvage tourism. This photograph, while appearing to document Indigenous traditions, instead represents a colonial framework that freezes the subject in time, erasing the dynamism and fluidity of their lived reality. By focusing on the man's regalia and isolating him from his natural environment or cultural context, the image abstracts him into a symbol of primitivism. This process erases the broader social, spiritual, and political dimensions of his culture, transforming him into a consumable image for non-Indigenous viewers. While ostensibly preserving an image of tradition, such postcards instead distort and commodify Indigenous identity, aligning with broader colonial projects of control and exploitation. This requires a recontextualization of such images to understand them not as neutral documents but as artefacts of a colonial gaze that sought to dehumanize and dominate (Sugrue, 2012:62-3).
In much the same way, the carefully curated pose and setting of Figure 11 illustrate the commodification of Indigenous culture, presenting the man as a performative figure rather than a subject of autonomy or complexity. The title itself, “Chief in a Shooting Pose,” reduces the individual to a role constructed for external audiences, devoid of personal identity or historical context, reinforcing reductive notions of Indigeneity as a monolithic and ahistorical phenomenon. The ceremonial regalia, tipi, and bow and arrow are key symbols that have been appropriated and decontextualized for the benefit of non-Indigenous viewers. These elements serve to construct a visual language of exoticism, simplifying the rich cultural and spiritual significance of such items into props for an imagined ‘wild’ or ‘authentic’ Native American experience. The image thus functions as a product within a broader market that commodified Indigenous peoples and cultures as objects of curiosity, nostalgia, and entertainment.
Figure 11 embodies the process of othering, in which Indigenous people are depicted as fundamentally different from Euro-American settlers, confined to an imagined past and portrayed as primitive or noble savages. The shooting pose evokes a sense of action, bravery, or aggression, aligning with the stereotype of the warrior that dominated colonial narratives. This stereotype reduces the Indigenous man to a caricature of violence and resistance, reinforcing fears and fantasies about Indigenous peoples while ignoring the nuanced realities of their lives. Additionally, the tipi in the background, a cultural symbol associated with specific Plains tribes, functions as a visual shorthand for authenticity, irrespective of the man’s actual tribal affiliation or lived experience8. Such imagery creates a homogenized view of Native Americans, erasing the diversity of languages, practices, and identities that characterize Indigenous communities.
Figure 11. Postcard entitled ‘Chief in a Shooting Pose’, undated and no publishing marks
Figure 11 blurs the line between documentation and performance, as the subject likely participated in the staged scene for economic or social reasons. While he is actively participating in the portrayal, his agency is constrained by the demands of a dominant culture that dictated how Indigenous identities should be represented. This paradox, being both visible and erased, underscores the power dynamics at play, where Indigenous people were pressured to perform roles that fit colonial expectations. A famous example is the employment of Indigenous people in Buffalo Bill’s Circus; of this, Sitting Bull’s son, William, and step-son, John, were notable performers (Scarangella McNenly, 2014: 144-5). The caption reinforces this process of erasure by prioritizing the pose over the person, rendering the subject nameless and detached from historical and cultural context. The image serves as a tool for shaping colonial memory, ensuring that Indigenous peoples are remembered not as dynamic participants in history but as static figures in a nostalgic, romanticized, and commodified past.
Figure 12, below, titled “Vicenti, Chief of All the Navajos,” reflects broader colonial visual practices that romanticized and othered Native Americans in the early 20th century. It romanticizes the figure of Vicenti through its highly stylized composition and narrative framing. The lush landscape, with its serene creek, pastel-hued skies, and untouched terrain, creates an idyllic backdrop that aligns with the settler-colonial vision of the American West as an expansive, untamed wilderness (Adas, 2001: 1693-5). The placement of Vicenti as a solitary, stoic figure with his horse suggests a harmonious connection between the individual and the land. The visual and textual connection between rider and mount is also a powerful signifier throughout history, with horses often serving as identifiers of social status (Ropa, 2019). However, this portrayal is not a celebration of Indigenous identity but a projection of the ‘noble savage’ stereotype, which romanticizes Native Americans as noble yet doomed figures, inseparable from an idealized, pre-modern natural world (Ellingson, 2001).
Figure 12. ‘Vicenti, Chief of All the Navajos’, Frank S. Thayer, Thayer Pub. Co., Denver, 1906
The othering of Native Americans is central to this image, which is constructed entirely for the consumption of a non-Indigenous audience. The colonial gaze is evident in how Vicenti is depicted as both alien and accessible, distant and familiar. While his ornate dress, weapons, and posture signal his ‘exotic’ difference, the scene’s framing within an idyllic landscape makes him a consumable artifact of a romanticized past. The emphasis on Vicenti’s isolation in the landscape reinforces the settler-colonial narrative of Native Americans as anachronistic, existing outside of modernity and progress. By situating him within a timeless, pastoral space, the image denies the possibility of Indigenous peoples’ engagement with contemporary society or their resistance to colonial systems. This serves to naturalize their displacement, suggesting that they belong to the land only as aesthetic figures in settler fantasies, not as agents of their own destiny. The figure of Vicenti is reduced to a static symbol of a vanishing culture, existing solely to satisfy settler fantasies of the American West. Through its romanticized aesthetics and commercial production, the postcard perpetuates stereotypes and reinforces the ideological frameworks of colonial domination. It is argued that further critical analysis of such images is essential to deconstructing the legacy of visual practices that continue to shape perceptions of Indigenous peoples and their histories.
As Ferguson (2005) discusses in his article, using postcards as a primary source of reference for historical phenomena and academic discourse is often deeply debated and criticized. However, we can see from the commodification and the existence of a 'market' of a postcard genre shows that there was interest from the public at that time. As Peterson states, postcards are a distillation of the images of the contemporary interest, so that some cultural significance resides in the themes selected. The same sentiment echoed by Prochaska, commercial photographs (i.e. postcards) say something about the market, the people who bought and sold them, and their mentality. The commodity needs to respond to what the customer is willing to buy. Rather than their originality, it is precisely their lack of originality that makes postcards significant. While the depiction of Westward migration and colonial subjects in the American West is lacking in historical evidence for cultural and social lives of that period, these postcards serve perfectly as a media to understand the colonial powers and prejudices towards the Native American at the time.
CONCLUSION
This study has demonstrated that postcards, often dismissed as trivial or decorative items, were in fact, deeply embedded within the ideological machinery of colonial discourse in the American West. These seemingly mundane visual artefacts functioned as tools of cultural transmission, shaping perceptions of westward expansion, settler heroism and Indigenous identity. Through curated imagery and strategically written inscriptions, postcards reinforced dominant narratives that legitimized settler colonialism, racial hierarchies, and the myth of the vanishing Native American.
The glorified depictions of frontier life, pioneer migration, and cowboy culture not only romanticized the process of territorial conquest but also systematically erased violence and dispossession at its core. These images sanitized the settler project, presenting it as a noble civilizing mission while ignoring Indigenous resistance and survival. The persistent tropes of the ‘noble savages.’ the heroic cowboy, and the empty frontier reflect a colonial imagination that sought to solidify white American exceptionalism and erase the complexities of Indigenous experiences.
Furthermore, the study has shown that the commodification of Native American culture (through staged photography, symbolic regalia, and marketable nostalgia) played a central role in reinforcing colonial power. These representations, whether produced in the early twentieth century or republished decades later for modern consumption, continued to present Indigenous people as static, exotic, and ahistorical. In doing so, they aligned with broader practices of visual epistemic control central to both Orientalism and internal colonialism.
By applying interdisciplinary frameworks from visual culture studies, postcolonial theory and historiography, this research highlights the necessity of re-evaluating visual media (in this case, postcards) as critical historical sources. Postcards are not merely reflections of popular interest but active participants in the formation of colonial knowledge and the entrenchment of social hierarchies. They reveal how settler societies constructed and disseminated a narrative of American identity that rested on exclusion, erasure, and myth-making.
Ultimately, this study advocates for a deeper critical engagement with visual colonial archives. Understanding the ideological functions of such materials is essential not only for deconstructing past injustices but also for interrogating the visual legacies that continue to shape public memory and cultural perceptions of the American West and its Indigenous peoples. As debates on decolonization, visual restitution, and cultural heritage evolve, the re-evaluation of historical ephemera like postcards offers a powerful entry point into contested histories and enduring colonial shadows.
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1 See, Homi Bhabha, ‘Of Mimicry and Man: The Ambivalence of Colonial Discourse’, October, 28, Discipleship: A Special Issue on Psychoanalysis (Spring, 1984), pp. 125-133; Gautam Basu Thakur, ‘Reading Bhabha, Reading Lacan: Preliminary Notes on Colonial Anxiety. In S. Biswas (ed.) The Literary Lacan: From Literature to Lituraterre and Beyond (pp. 240-258). London and New York: Seagull Books (2012).
2 See also, Patricia Seed, ‘More Colonial and Postcolonial Discourses’, Latin American Research Review, 28(3), 1993, pp. 146-152.
3 See also, Didik Murwantono, ‘A Study on the Individualism Accounts on American Literature through Reader Response Criticism, Rubikon: Journal of Transnational American Studies, 9(2), 2022, pp. 194-206; Lewis Atherton, Cattlemen and Cowboy: Fact and Fancy, Montana: the Magazine of Western History, 11(4), pp. 2-17.
4 See, Donald J. Kagay, ‘Icaria: An Aborted Utopia on the Texas Frontier’, The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 116(4), 2013, pp. 358-385; Wayne Wheeler, Peter Hernon & James H. Sweetland, ‘Icarian Communism: A Preliminary Exploration in Historiography, Bibliography, and Social Theory’, International Review of Modern Sociology, 6(1), 1976, pp. 127-137.
5 See also, Saree Makdisi, ‘The Architecture of Erasure’, Critical Inquiry, 36(3), 2010, pp. 519-559; Ashley Kyne, ‘Renegotiating Sovereignty?: Māori Resistance in the Face of Colonial Erasure’, Yellowhead Brief, 159, 2024, pp. 1-4.
6 See, C. S. Kingston, ‘The Northern Overland Route in 1867: Journal of Henry Lueg’, The Pacific Northwest Quarterly, 41(3), 1950, pp. 234-253.
7 See, Logan Hovis & Jeremy Mouat, ‘Miners, Engineers, and the Transformation of Work in the Western Mining Industry, 1880-1930’, Technology and Culture, 37(3), 1996, pp. 429-456; Julia Ann Laite, ‘Historical Perspectives on Industrial Development, Mining, and Prostitution’, The Historical Journal, 52(3), 2009, pp. 739-761.
8 See also, Ted J. Brasser, ‘The Tipi as an Element in the Emergence of Historic Plains Indian Nomadism’, Plains Anthropologist, 27(98), 1982, pp. 309-321; Carling Malouf, ‘The Tipi Rings of the High Plains’, American Antiquity, 26(3), 1961, pp. 381-389.