←    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

She's the One

Reviving a nearly lost art on the Alaska coast.

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Alaska · Portrait · Archive Candidates · Native American

She's the One — Native American photography by James Cook

An Unsung Hero

They Called Him Uncivilized

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Portrait · Archive Candidates · Native American · Wounded Knee · Traditional Subjects

An Unsung Hero — Native American photography by James Cook

An Empty-Handed Approach

Some doors don't open to force

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Portrait · Archive Candidates · Native American · Traditional Subjects

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

From the Trapeze to the Pow Wow Arena

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

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Portrait · Archive Candidates · Native American · Traditional Subjects

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

Subiyay, Not the Last Tree

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

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Portrait · Archive Candidates · Native American · Traditional Subjects

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

Still Here

Potawatomi and Ojibwe tradition on the shores of Lake Michigan

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Michigan · Portrait · Archive Candidates · Native American · Traditional Subjects

Still Here — Native American photography by James Cook

The Redcoat

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

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Michigan · Portrait · Archive Candidates · Native American · Traditional Subjects

The Redcoat — Native American photography by James Cook

The Photograph That Waited Thirty Years

Sometimes the camera captures more than expected.

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Portrait · Archive Candidates · Native American · Wounded Knee · Traditional Subjects

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

Ben Nighthorse Campbell (1933–2025)

A life of service, craft, and conviction

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Portrait · Archive Candidates · Native American · Traditional Subjects

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

An Uneven Inheritance

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

Photographic Time Capsules

The Evolution of Traditions

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Portrait · Archive Candidates · Native American · Traditional Subjects

Photographic Time Capsules — Native American photography by James Cook

Culture is Stubborn

The Steady Persistence of Heart

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Portrait · Archive Candidates · Native American · Wounded Knee · Traditional Subjects

Culture is Stubborn — 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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