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Dogs of Montana
Photograph analysis can be a valuable classroom resource for studying history. Photographs can be used as an anticipatory set, helping to spark students' curiosity about a topic before starting a new unit. They can also be used throughout or at the conclusion of a unit to enable students to synthesize what they have learned, creating connections that lead to a deeper understanding of historical events.
Once students have practiced the steps of photograph analysis, they are able to see a photograph as more than just an image in a textbook. The questions that accompany the following photographs are merely a starting point, intended to initiate a conversation. The goal of photograph analysis is to get students thinking and asking their own questions, inspiring them to be active participants in the learning process.
This collection is intended to provide a look at the various roles dogs played in the history of Montana. As you look at each photo, consider the questions that follow while attempting to formulate your own understanding of the story that is captured in these images.
Consider how dog’s roles in our society have changed over time, as well as how they have stayed the same while the world around us has not. What common theme connects each of these photographs and helps to tell the story of the importance of dogs to humans both historically, and in modern times.
The Montana Stories of the Land curriculum provides a photograph analysis document that can also be used as an effective tool for looking deeper into the story that is being told in any photograph (see photograph analysis document for younger students here).
Native American Dogs
Photograph: Crow sweat lodge with men and dog.
Three men and three women, probably members of the Crow Indian tribe, sit and stand near a sweat lodge. The lodge is a low, domed structure made of tarps, located near trees and bushes. With the group is a large spotted dog.
What is the first thing you notice in this picture?
What type of dog is pictured?
Is this the kind of dog you would expect to see with a group of Native Americans? Why or why not?
Where do you think this dog came from?
What do you notice about the people in the image?
Does the woman on the right appear to be talking to the dog?
Sweat lodge ceremonies often involve prayer. What might these people be praying for?
Why was this picture taken?
Photo: Cree Women Roasting a Dog.
While it may be disturbing, this photo provides a very real look at the struggles Native Americans faced in the early 1900s.
What historical events would have led to this moment?
How old do you think the dog was?
What do you think was the dog’s role prior to this? Why?
Where do you think this dog came from?
How many lodges are in the picture?
How many people would likely have been in this camp?
How many people was this dog expected to feed?
What role do the two men in the background have in this camp?
Do you think they are Native American? Why or why not?
What impression do you get from the woman looking at the camera?
Why was this picture taken?
Photo: Flathead woman, cooking breakfast, July 1906.
View of a Salish woman sitting in front of a tipi with a pile of fry bread by her hands, probably on the Flathead Indian Reservation, July 1906. A pail sits next to her and a tea or coffeepot is nearby. A small child sits to the left of the woman, and a man, two boys, and a dog pose near the entrance of the tipi. Leafy boughs lean against the tipi. A second tipi and a wagon are partially visible in the background at left. Probably photographed by Morton J. Elrod.
How does this photo compare to the previous one?
What is this woman cooking for breakfast?
What do you notice about the cooking utensils?
Where is the dog in this photo?
What type of dog do you think this is?
Does this appear to be a working dog, a pet, or both? Why?
Where do you think this dog came from?
Why do you think the trees are piled on the lodge?
What impression do you get from the facial expressions of the people pictured?
Why was this picture taken?
Photo: Northern Cheyenne Posing.
Portrait of three Cheyenne women seated on a log in a grassy area, likely on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana. A small child sits in front of the women and pets a small dog or puppy. There is a barbed wire fence and trees in the background.
What is the first thing you notice about this picture?
How do the facial expressions of the women compare to the people in the previous pictures?
What impression do you get from the child interacting with the dog?
What do you think this dog’s role is? Why?
Where do you think this dog came from?
Why was this picture taken?
Portrait of a Cheyenne family standing in front of a tent on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana. On the left a woman wears a dotted dress. in left center a girl in braids with a spotted dress and white frock holds a prairie dog. She looks up at a man in a hat next to her. In front of the man is a small boy in a hat who holds two black and white puppies.
What kind of dogs are pictured here?
Where do you think they came from?
What do you think this dog’s role is? Why?
Is this a temporary camp or do you think it is their home?
How does it compare to previous photos?
What do you notice about the way these people are dressed?
What impression do you get from the expressions of the people pictured?
What is the daughter holding?
Why was this picture taken?
Homesteads and Dogs
View of I.J. Torske's homestead that, Henry Syverud notes, was proved up by Mrs. Elsie Torske. The photograph displays a new home with three men posing out front with a dog.
What is the first thing you notice about this picture?
What kind of dog is pictured?
What do you think this dog’s role is? Why?
Where do you think this dog came from?
Why are there only men in the picture?
Whose crutches are leaning against the house?
Why are the two men lying on the ground?
What impression do you get from the man standing to the left?
What do you notice about the house?
How does it compare to your house?
What appears to be sitting on the porch of the house?
Why isn’t it in the house?
Do you think all of these men live here? Why or why not?
Why was this picture taken?
Photo: Mr. and Mrs. Ole Boe's Home
View of Ole Boe's newly built house in Valley County, Montana. Andrew Dahl is on the left with Anton Bakke standing next to him and Ole Boe and Eva (French) Boe stand on the right. In between the groups is a small dog.
What type of dog is pictured here?
What do you think this dog’s role is? Why?
Where do you think this dog came from?
How does this house compare to the previous photo?
What do you notice about the way these people are dressed?
Do these people appear to have the means to support a dog?
What might they have fed this dog?
Who are the other two men pictured?
What is the man on the left holding?
Why was this picture taken?
Photo: Calvin Roddy Homestead, Crow Coulee area
View of a man standing in the doorway of a homestead shack, a dog to his left. Identified as the Calvin Roddy homestead in the Crow Coulee area of Choteau County, Montana.
What kind of dog is pictured here?
What do you think this dog’s role is? Why?
Where do you think this dog came from?
How does this house compare to the previous ones?
What do you think it would have been like to live in this house?
Would you have wanted to live in this house? Why or why not?
Photo: Andrew Dahl's First Homestead.
View of Andrew Dahl, Anton Bakke, and Ole Boe, with a dog, posing outside of Andrew Dahl's homestead in Sheridan County, Montana.
What is the first thing you notice about this picture?
What type of dog is pictured here?
Where do you think this dog came from?
How does this house compare to the previous ones?
Why are these the same men from Mr. and Mrs. Ole Boe’s homestead?
Did they build these houses?
Is it the same dog?
What do you think this dog’s role is? Why?
Why are all of the houses so similar?
Why was this picture taken?
Children and Dogs
Photo: Wilder, Montana, dog pulling boy in wagon
Wilder, Montana was located on the south side of the Missouri River about 15 miles west of the Mussellshell River in Montana. It had a post office from 1886 to 1939.
What is the first thing you notice in this picture?
What type of dog is pictured here?
What do you think this dog’s role is? Why?
Where do you think this dog came from?
Would your dog let you do this?
What do you notice about the way the boy is dressed?
What do you notice in the background?
How does this house compare to the ones in previous pictures?
What impression do you get from the expression on the boy’s face?
What can you infer about the relationship between the boy and the dog?
Why was this picture taken?
Photo: Dollie Ruth and Morrie Ray Yarnell
View of Dollie Ruth Yarnell pushing a baby carriage with a doll on pillow while Morrie Ray Yarnell rides wooden horse and holds dog on leash with log house in background at their family's farm east of Judith Gap, Montana in Meagher County.
What type of dog is pictured here?
What do you think this dog’s role is? Why?
Where do you think this dog came from?
What do you notice about the way the children are dressed?
What impression do you get from the expressions of the children pictured?
What impression do you get from the dog’s expression?
How does this house compare to the ones in previous pictures?
What can you infer about the relationship between the children and the dog?
Why was this picture taken?
Photo: Two children holding teddy bears and standing next to a large sleeping dog
View of two children holding teddy bears and standing next to a large sleeping dog adjacent to a house, somewhere in Montana. The boy is John Paul Nelson and his playmate is Virginia; the dog's name is Rex.
What type of dog is pictured here?
What do you think this dog’s role is? Why?
Where do you think this dog came from?
What do you notice about the way the children are dressed?
What impression do you get from the expressions of the children pictured?
What impression do you get from the dog’s expression?
How does this house compare to the ones in previous pictures?
What can you infer about the relationship between the children and the dog?
Why was this picture taken?
Photo: Man with child in a wagon
An unidentified man with a young child in a wagon poses in front of 1204 Poplar Street in Missoula, Montana. A dog sits alongside the wagon. The two-story house at 1204 Popular, in the lower Rattlesnake, can be seen in the background at the base of Mount Jumbo. The man and wagon are in a grassy area. The street behind them appears to be unpaved.
What type of dog is pictured here?
What do you think this dog’s role is? Why?
Where do you think this dog came from?
What do you notice about the way the man and child are dressed?
What impression do you get from the dog’s expression?
How does the house compare to the ones in previous pictures?
What can you infer about the relationship between the child and the dog?
Why was this picture taken?
Photo: Young boy with toy tractor pulling a dog in a wagon at an unidentified rural home in Montana
View of a young boy with a toy tractor with pedals pulling a dog sitting in a wagon at an unidentified rural home in Montana. The residence is in the background. This photo is a part of a small photo collection once held by the Montana State Correspondence School, a remote learning or home school program operated by the Montana State Department of Public Instruction.
What type of dog is pictured here?
What do you think this dog’s role is? Why?
Where do you think this dog came from?
What do you notice about the way the child is dressed?
What impression do you get from the boy’s expression?
What impression do you get from the dog’s expression?
How does this house compare to the ones in previous pictures?
What can you infer about the relationship between the boy and the dog?
Why was this picture taken?
Group with Dogs
Photo: Midway Saloon, Garnet, Montana
View of six unidentified men posed on boardwalk in front of Midway Saloon in Garnet, Montana. One man leans against post, one smokes a cigar near man wearing a white apron, another man holding front legs of a dog standing on rear legs.
What is the first thing you notice about this picture?
What type of dog is pictured here?
What do you think this dog’s role is? Why?
Where do you think this dog came from?
Did the dog just happen to be in the picture or do you think they chose to include him?
Do you think the dog would have been allowed in the saloon?
What do you notice about the way the men are dressed?
What can you infer about the relationship between the people and the dog?
Why was this picture taken?
Photo: Group of people in front of store
Group of people posing in front of storefront. 12 men, one girl, and one dog. Possibly a barbershop as there appears a barber's pole sticking out from storefront. Photo caption reads: First row: ???, St. Maries, Fred R. Thibodeau, "Willie" William Thibodeau. Back row: Joe Pelletier, ???, Edmund Pelletier, ??, ??, Gust Goyer, ??. 2nd from right -- Frank Beaulieu.
What type of dog is pictured here?
What do you think this dog’s role is? Why?
Where do you think this dog came from?
Who do you think this dog belongs to?
What do you notice about the way the men are dressed?
What is the man in the center holding?
What kind of store do you think this is?
Why is the girl there?
What can you infer about the relationship between the people and the dog?
Why was this picture taken?
Photo: Group of workers with dog
Group of Spanish or Italian workers, probably railroad workers, one seated on ground holding dog. Taken between March 28 and April 22, 1909.
What type of dog is pictured here?
What do you think this dog’s role is? Why?
Where do you think this dog came from?
Who do you think this dog belongs to?
What do you notice about the way the men are dressed?
What kind of work do you think these men do? Why?
What impression do you get from the expressions on the men’s faces?
What can you infer about the relationship between the people and the dog?
Why was this picture taken?
Photo: Group with fresh produce
Two men and a woman seated in rocking chairs on the side of a frame house, next to watermelons, potatoes, onions, and corn displayed on wooden box. One of the men holds a dog, and the other man has a tankard. On Bad Route, at the Fin..
What type of dog is pictured here?
What do you think this dog’s role is? Why?
Where do you think this dog came from?
Who do you think this dog belongs to?
What impression do you get from the expressions of the people pictured?
What do you notice about the way the people are dressed?
What can you infer about the relationship between the people and the dog?
Photo: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a car
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt riding in an open car with a dog. Possibly in Butte, Montana.
What type of dog is pictured here?
What do you think this dog’s role is? Why?
Where do you think this dog came from?
Who do you think this dog belongs to?
What can you infer about the relationship between President Roosevelt and this dog?
Conclusion
After completing a photograph analysis activity, there are numerous options for conclusion and extension activities that provide students the opportunity to show what they have learned, here are just a few:
Students can be asked to find a common theme that ties the photographs together.
Students can research a particular photograph to find out more about that person, place, or event.
Students can write a short story/narrative using the photograph as a prompt.
Students can use content specific vocabulary to explain the significance of the photograph.
Students can state where they feel the photograph belongs on a timeline with other photographs and explain their reasoning.
Students can create a replica of an artifact found in a photograph.
Students can take their own photograph that is the modern equivalent of the people, places, or events pictured.
Students can create a scavenger hunt of details in the photograph for others to find.
No matter the age of the student, photographs are an engaging and invaluable tool for teaching and understanding history. They help bring to life the people, places, and events that shape our past and our future. Learning to look closely and find the deeper meaning in any photograph allows students to gain knowledge and understanding that cannot be found by reading text alone.
Author: Kenn Besaw
Bibliography/Resources
photograph analysis document, National Archives Resource
Junior Photo Analysis Document, National Archives Resource
Photo Credit
Montana Historical Society Library and Archives
University of Montana Mansfield Library
