Welcome...

The Center for World Indigenous Studies is pleased to share a portion of the works of photographer Robert Harper (1931-1993). We have been given the privilege of sharing his world of indigenous peoples photography: photos from the Kiriwina Islands, Papua New Guinea, Mexico, and Guatemala. 

Bob Harper traveled the world when he was not working as the lead photographer at Los Alamos Laboratories in New Mexico. In 1998, his wife and partner Kay met Dr. Ryser while he was presenting at a conference on World War Two arranged by their mutual friend Marge Belle Chambers at Los Alamos. Discovering that they both shared Yelapa, Mexico in common a dialogue began which resulted in the donation of Bob’s collection to CWIS. 

The photos shown here were taken between the 50's to the 80's and became a labor of love for both Bob and Kay during their retirement. Most of these pictures are converted from slides and many have been digitally enhanced to correct color and scratches. Most have been left with edges visible to provide as much of the photo as possible. We do not have descriptions for all the slides. For many of the pictures you will see the slide number only. More pictures will be added in the near future. We hope you enjoy the gallery as much as we do.  

Curator
Gene Hamilton
IT for CWIS.org