Native American Photo Essays

Native American Photos & Essays

The photographs in Traditional Subjects are portraits of Native American people; elders, dancers, artists and families from a forty-year documentary of contemporary Indigenous life across the country. The bulk of these photographs, along with slideshows, the exhibition work and prints, are in the Traditional Subjects gallery page.

They all have bigger stories to share about who they are: their lives, the roles they hold, and what they have contributed to cultural pride and recovery in their communities. As I'm able to write those stories, they're published in full on my Substack, Catching Shadows, where they are free to read whether you opt to subscribe or not.


The most recent — 12 pieces, 2025–2026

They Called Him Uncivilized

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Portrait · Native American · Wounded Knee · Traditional Subjects

An Unsung Hero — Native American photography by James Cook

Some doors don't open to force

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Portrait · Native American · Traditional Subjects

An Empty-Handed Approach — Native American photography by James Cook

A 94-year-old dancer, a circus childhood, and the long survival of the Otoe-Missouria

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Portrait · Native American · Traditional Subjects

From the Trapeze to the Pow Wow Arena — Native American photography by James Cook

On the Skokomish Reservation, one man spent a lifetime refusing to let his culture disappear

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Traditional Subjects

Subiyay, Not the Last Tree — Native American photography by James Cook

Potawatomi and Ojibwe tradition on the shores of Lake Michigan

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Michigan · Portrait · Native American · Traditional Subjects

Still Here — Native American photography by James Cook

A chief's redcoat, and the Ojibwe endurance in the Great Lakes

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Michigan · Portrait · Native American · Traditional Subjects

The Redcoat — Native American photography by James Cook

Sometimes the camera captures more than expected.

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Portrait · Native American · Wounded Knee · Traditional Subjects

The Photograph That Waited Thirty Years — Native American photography by James Cook

A life of service, craft, and conviction

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Portrait · Native American · Traditional Subjects

Ben Nighthorse Campbell (1933–2025) — Native American photography by James Cook

Poverty in a world that is richer than ever

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Portrait · Native American · Wounded Knee · Traditional Subjects

An Uneven Inheritance — Native American photography by James Cook

The Evolution of Traditions

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Portrait · Native American · Traditional Subjects

Photographic Time Capsules — Native American photography by James Cook

The Steady Persistence of Heart

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Portrait · Native American · Wounded Knee · Traditional Subjects

Culture is Stubborn — Native American photography by James Cook

Preserving Culture, Passing on Pride

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Portrait · Native American · Traditional Subjects

A Traditional Lakota Family — Native American photography by James Cook

 


See also: the Traditional Subjects galleries and slideshows, limited edition prints, the Traditional Subjects project overview, and everything else I write at Catching Shadows.

 

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