Harry Pollard (1880–1968) was a Canadian photographer known for his photographs of

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

peoples in Western Canada.

Career

Pollard was born in 1880 in

Tillsonburg Tillsonburg is a town in Oxford County, Ontario, Canada with a population of 18,615 located about 50 kilometres southeast of London, on Highway 3 at the junction of Highway 19. History Prior to European settlement, the present site of Tillso ...

, Ontario. His father, James, was a photographer. In May 1899, Pollard moved to

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

where he opened a photography studio. Among his most notable photographs are those documenting the First Nations of the

Blackfoot Confederacy The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...

living in Canada – the Tsuu T'ina Nation, the

Siksika Nation The Siksika Nation ( bla, Siksiká) is a First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, ...

and the

Kainai Nation The Kainai Nation (or , or Blood Tribe) ( bla, Káínaa) is a First Nations band government in southern Alberta, Canada, with a population of 12,800 members in 2015, up from 11,791 in December 2013. translates directly to 'many chief' (fro ...

. In 1924, Pollard was press photographer for Associated Screen News, a subsidiary of

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

. He was hired to take promotional pictures of ocean cruises, and his job took him around the world 14 times.
Guelph Mercury, 11 March 2007 The Harry Pollard photograph collection is in the

Provincial Archives of Alberta The Provincial Archives of Alberta is the official archives of the Canadian Province of Alberta. It preserves and makes available for research both private and government records of all media related to Alberta. The Provincial Archives of Alberta ...

, having been acquired by the provincial government in 1964.

Personal life

Pollard was married Eleanor Tillen, who was named Miss Canada in 1908. Together they had five children – Harry, William, Laura, Martha and Helen. Pollard died at the age of 87 on 9 July 1968.

References

1880 births 1968 deaths Canadian photographers People from Tillsonburg {{Canada-photographer-stub