One of the biggest challenges in producing Law for a Lawless Land was finding visuals to illustrate this era. With much of the story taking place in a courtroom, being on a frontier, with few opportunities at the time for an illustrated press and the recently invented practice of photography - from the very beginning we understood there would be limited source materials. Working in a visually dependent media, our work in this project was not only cut out for us, but going to take creativity, innovation, and collaboration.

Therefore, the vision for the look and content of the documentary began, and continued throughout the production, with an in-depth, ongoing collaboration with historical advisors and archivists. For example, celebrated western historian, scholar, and author Paul Andrew Hutton wrote the documentary script. His deep knowledge of this era and constant attention to the details of this history were invaluable. The process of sleuthing through New Mexico’s Digital Collections brought forth a diverse range of material from the likes of The Palace of the Governor’s Photo Archives, the Huntington Library, and UNM’s Center for Southwestern Research. The Denver Public Library keeps wonderful records of the west and we relied on the Library of Congress for their extensive collections. Local historical societies and their librarians such as the Sandoval County Historical Society pointed toward rarely seen photographs such as the very early Santa Ana County Courthouse in Peña Blanca.

Fortunately, these institutions are supportive of our educational mission and have opened their archives yielding photography and letters among other ephemera. All of which were invaluable to creating a story that transports us back in time and shows what places looked like, how people dressed, and the environments in which they lived. For example, we include one of the earliest known photographs of Santa Fe’s Exchange Hotel where the murder of Chief Justice P. Slough took place and today is the site of the La Fonda Hotel.

These collections also help bring to life Native American culture as we learn from Jemez Pueblo’s Ada Pecos Melton how they dealt with wrongdoing and how the arrival of American law impacted their communities. Several 19th century photographers documented these communities in particular John K. Hiller’s. His photography provides perspective into how the contemporary world has changed, and not changed, the Pueblos and New Mexico.