It’s been a long time since I took these photos. It’s hard to know where to start in sharing about them.
Theres nothing sweeter to watch than when a guarded kid feels safe enough to be a child. Going home with my college roommate for Christmas break meant getting to see her reunion with these little buds.
They see her-- they know they are safe, loved, and cared for. They trust her. She will feed them, protect them and play with them. It just takes them a few minutes to remember that. A few minutes and a happy meal.
Home for her is on the Yakima Indian Reservation. I’m embarrassed to admit that I growing up I thought Native Americans were extinct, or at least that the land and culture was gone. When history is told by oppressors I guess that is what happens. The museums I went to and the things I saw in media only shared native culture as what was happening in the 1400s around a table at thanksgiving or some version of Pocahontas. There was no explanation of what happened to them or where they are now.
It wasn’t until I saw the Aaron Huey’s publication on the Pine Ridge Reservation that I began to learn about the real history of Native America, of their resilience and of all they have suffered to continue living here.
His photos are stunning and hard to see. It would be easiest to judge the parents, or grandparents for the state of their nation. Suspend your judgement for enough time to learn what these people have gone through to get to this point.
https://www.helloprototype.com/projects-pineridge
We have a lot more to learn and a long way to go as a nation.
