Tepees of the Sioux Indians on Fort Snelling Flats

After establishing a photographic practice in his home state of Maine, Upton decided, in 1856, to relocate to Minnesota Territory to document life there. He traveled across Minnesota and Wisconsin for almost twenty years, capturing landscapes and scenes of Native American life. This photograph depicts several Sioux standing in front of their teepees in Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Well into the late 1860s, Upton would spend much time photographing among the Sioux, Chippewa, and Winnebago.