Portraits of Alberta First Nations Taken by Harry Pollard From the Early 20th Century ~ Vintage Everyday

First Nations in Alberta are a group of people who live in the Canadian province of Alberta. The First Nations are peoples (or nations) recognized as Indigenous peoples or Plains Indians in Canada excluding the Inuit and the Métis. According to the 2011 Census, a population of 116,670 Albertans self-identified as First Nations. Specifically there were 96,730 First Nations people with registered Indian Status and 19,945 First Nations people without registered Indian Status. There are 48 First Nations or “bands” in Alberta (in the sense of governments made up of a council and a chief), belonging to nine different ethnic groups or “tribes” based on their ancestral languages.

Harry Pollard, son of photographer James Pollard, was born in Tillsonburg, Ontario in 1880. He moved west in May 1899 and set up a photographic studio in Calgary, Alberta. Pollard became a well-established photographer in the community. His famous collection includes photographs of the Klondike gold rush of 1888 and 1889, and hundreds of pictures of Alberta First Nations.

In 1924 the Associated Screen News, a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), hired Pollard to photograph their global ocean cruises for promotional purposes. It was this job that took him around the world 14 times. Also during this time, Pollard honed his skills as a cinematographer, and much of his footage was used in newsreels issued by Associated Screen News.

In 1954, after 30 years with Associated Screen News, Pollard retired. Harry Pollard was very active in the Calgary community. He was an organizer and charter member of the Calgary Golf and Country Club, a member of the Alpine Club and a member of the Canadian Trail Riders Club. Harry and his wife Eleanor (Ella), a former Miss Canada from 1908, were both members of St. Barnabas Anglican Church. Together they had five children. Pollard died at the age of 87 on July 9, 1968.