An elderly white man (identified as B.F. Shaw) with a full beard poses in a grassy field, raising his left hand to his brow. He is dressed in a three-piece woolen suit, white shirt, and knee-length overcoat. He holds a cane in his right hand. Two large dogs rest just behind him. To his right is a conically shaped pile of rocks or rock cairn. A mountain range is visible in the background.
Ten tipis stand in a row with buildings and deciduous trees behind them. In front of the tipis, on the left side of the photo, is a white house with a porch.
Three tipis stand in close proximity in an open meadow. Small piles of wood are next to the tipis, and one tipi has a wagon wheel propped up against it. In between the middle and tipi on the far left stand several Native Americans, an adult and two children. The adult is wearing a capote with horizontal stripes. Behind these people is a wagon that looks like a buckboard. Behind and to the left of the buckboard is a horse or a cow. Another person wearing dark clothing is standing by the door of the tipi on the far right.
A dusty two-lane road leads past a small church, partially obscured by its manse, a two-story clapboard house with porches and a gambrel roof. The church, identified as Presbyterian, is two stories in height with a bell tower at one corner. It too seems to be built of clapboard, and has arched windows with leaded panes visible. The yard of the church and manse is surrounded by a wire fence supported by wooden posts; a wheel hoe sits nearby. Young trees have been planted near the church. In the background can be seen open land with some scattered groves of trees, and a low mountain range stretches behind.