This is an excellent image of a young Native American, identified as a Navajo called ‘Indian Jim’ in the description. He is seated, holding a bow and arrow, with more arrows in his lap, a powder-horn and leather bag hung around his neck. He also has a woven bag, hanging on the opposite side, suspended from what appears to be a fur strap. He is wearing a checked shirt, a rag wound around his head, and denim trousers.

This photo is attributed to John Gaw Meem (1833-1908) and was copyrighted in 1914 by Cyrus P. Jennings. Another photo, posed similarly but depicting Manuelito of the Din’eh Navajo tribe, was also attributed to Meem and copyrighted in 1914 by Jennings, and is dated to about 1865. This John Gaw Meem was the first of three to bear that name in the family, and the grandfather of the famous architect. All three attended the Virginia Military Institute: the architect beginning in 1910, his father the missionary in the class of 1884, and this one in the class of 1852. He served in the Civil War, so if this attribution and date are correct, he probably served on the Western frontier after the war. I have found no other mention of his taking photographs; he returned to Virginia and farmed after leaving military service. The family doesn’t seem to have any other connection to the Southwest until after 1920 when the architect took up residence in Arizona.