Chief Big Foot Memorial Ride, Lakota, 1990   On December 29, 1990, in blowing snow and wind-chill temperatures around 50 degrees below zero, more than 350 mounted riders approached Wounded Knee, South Dakota. They rode to observe the end of seven generations of mourning on the centennial of the massacre of Chief Big Foot and nearly 300 of his Lakota people. Over seven days, they had retraced Big Foot's path. The bitter cold that day seemed appropriate for remembering the results of one culture failing to understand another. When they neared Wounded Knee, their precise path proved elusive to me. Twice I got ahead of them, ran across a stretch of prairie and waited, only to see them go by on a nearby ridge. On the third attempt, a fence line ensured they had no choice but to come to where I waited with my cameras. Only minutes after I reached that spot, the advance scouts came over the crest of the hill. They rode up, confirmed that I wasn't lost and alone on the prairie, then rode on. As the column approached, the frost-covered horses and riders took on a timeless and ghostly appearance as if they were indeed riding in from the past. Leading them were Arvol Looking Horse, Birgil Kills Straight and Dan Afraid of Hawk. Looking Horse, the 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe and spiritual leader of the riders, was one of the original fifteen who made the ride in 1986. It was in that same year that he learned he was a great-great-grandson of Big Foot. Kills Straight, grandson of a massacre survivor, was also an original rider on the 300-mile route he had proposed. Afraid of Hawk, son of a massacre survivor, was the last living patriarch of the Afraid of Hawk tiospaye, or extended family, a lineage that included White Mountain, Slow Bull and Slow Woman. As they passed, I stood my ground, kept shooting and became completely engulfed. The ground shook as more than 1,500 hooves trotted over the frozen turf. A number of runners appeared among the horses. My photographic ambitions satisfied, I got caught up in the moment. I turned and ran with them for as long as I was able.

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Lakota Dancers at Red Rocks, 1990   A Lakota grass dancer follows a traditional Lakota dancer across a ridge at Red Rocks Park in Colorado. The grass dance evolved from when men tucked long grasses into their belts to today's colorful outfits which are covered from shoulder to ankle with long flows of brightly colored cloth fringe. The steps and movements are very old and are believed to have originated from an old warriors dance to express victory over an enemy. The traditional dance is one of the oldest dances of the Northern plains. Some say it originated when war parties returned to the village and would dance out their story of the battle. The outfit typically consists of a coup stick, eagle feathers, furs, porcupine quills, beads and bells and may include pieces handed down over generations.

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Priscilla and Jose Vigil of Tesuque Pueblo, Tewa, 1994   On one of my visits to Tesuque Pueblo, the Vigils cordially agreed to dress and pose for me in the pueblo center. Their son was the pueblo governor at the time.

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Frank and Kate Fools Crow, Oglala Lakota, 1984   In 1984, while attending a powwow at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, I noticed an elderly couple sitting quietly in the shade. The drums were loud, so I smiled and gestured that I’d like to take their photograph. The man nodded his consent. I took two quick frames and moved on. Thirty years later, I came across the photographs in my files and decided to do more than file them away again. I contacted an old friend, Walter Littlemoon, who was then living at Wounded Knee, to see if he might recognize them. He did. The man was Chief Frank Fools Crow, seated with his second wife, Kate. They were married in 1958. On December 29, 1890, the Wounded Knee Massacre occurred on this very ground. Nearly 300 Lakota people were killed, most of them women, children and elders. Fools Crow was born just six months earlier and only a few miles away. Fools Crow was a revered Oglala Lakota spiritual leader, Yuwipi medicine man and ceremonial chief and a nephew of Black Elk. Raised in the traditional Lakota way, he left formal schooling early at his father’s insistence and never became fluent in English. As a young man, he traveled with the Buffalo Bill Cody Wild West Show. For decades, Fools Crow served his people as a healer, teacher and spiritual guide, leading ceremonies at a time when many Indigenous religious practices were outlawed. In 1973, during the American Indian Movement occupation of Wounded Knee, though not a militant leader, he played a key moral and spiritual role in helping negotiate a peaceful end to the armed standoff. Kate was a gifted traditional artist; her beadwork and meticulously crafted Lakota dresses are now preserved in museum collections. She remained by his side until her death in 1988. He was believed to be 99 years old when he died a year later. When I made this photograph, I only knew that something about the scene called out to me: his digital watch, the lawn chairs, the Styrofoam cup resting on a plastic jug, the incidental teepee and his painted cane. What caught me most was the character in their faces: her looking over her glasses as if trying to see what I was doing, and him locking eyes with the camera.

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Cody Coe, Dakota, 2021   Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Cody Coe embraces his Native American heritage. He is associated with the Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota of South Dakota and identifies with Lakota and Northern Ute heritage. Cody traveled the country as a competitive powwow dancer. Dancers, like Cody, follow the 'powwow circuit' competing for significant prize purses at major powwows. Some powwows award thousands of dollars in prize money per category. Competitive dancers exhibit not just technical athletic skill, but deep cultural knowledge, respect for the drum and mastery of their specific style’s etiquette. Cody competed in men's Northern Traditional dances. 'When you dance, it's like a prayer,' he explained. 'Every little movement has a different meaning.' Dancers are judged on footwork, rhythm, posture, stamina and exact synchronization with the drum. They must stop precisely on the final beat of a song or face disqualification. They are also judged by their outfit, or regalia; never referred to as a costume. It is deeply personal sacred attire, often painstakingly handcrafted over hundreds of hours by the dancer, family members or master artisans. Care and transportation of regalia is a central part of a champion dancer's craft. Cody's handmade regalia reflected both artistry and devotion using common but individualized elements of Northern Traditional outfits. Porcupine quill, deer hair, bone, and eagle feathers and talons are worked into the regalia, each material chosen with purpose. In Native traditions, animals are seen as guides, protectors and teachers. Among them, the eagle is held in the highest esteem, its feathers regarded as sacred gifts. With a bow and quiver of arrows over his shoulder, an abalone shell disc and his face paint of a black band across his eyes and a white zigzag down both cheeks, Cody further personalized his outfit. The 1883 Code of Indian Offenses criminalized traditional Indigenous dances and spiritual gatherings as part of the United States government's forced assimilation policies. For decades, traditions were kept alive in secret. Prohibitions were slowly abandoned but never lifted by any single instrument. Protection came with the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978. On this day, Cody had stepped away for a break from the dancing, drums and arena where he was competing in a powwow hosted by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

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Couple in Woodland Regalia   Debbie and Robin Hassinger of Cassopolis, Michigan pose in their Women's and Men's Traditional Woodland outfits. Debbie is a 13th great-granddaughter of Pocahontas and therefore 14th of Wahunsunacawh, chief of the Powhatans. She's also a grand niece of John Curtis Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. It adds up to a bloodline of Cherokee and Powhatan plus Irish and German. She designed her outfit with roses to represent the Cherokees' Trail Of Tears and shamrocks to represent her Irish heritage. The fringe was taken from the hide dress that she made and wore for her naming many years ago. Her spiritual name is Menoanungqwa, meaning Good Star Woman. She is retired, now being a housewife and involved in the ministries in their church. She has pride and responsibilities that, as a woman elder, she takes very seriously. Robin is Ojibwe with a spiritual name of Ma Day We Mgizee, meaning Strong Heart Eagle. A senior designer for BorgWarner, he made his entire woodland regalia which consists of floral oriented beadwork and a typical black background. 'I spent one winter beading my turban and another winter beading the top. The beads that hang in the front are an old way' His outfit, one of several, consists of deer toe jingles on the ankles, buffalo on the knees, cuffs and the tail of his fan, wild turkey spurs on his necklace and a muskrat medicine bag. The sassafras dance stick was a gift from his mother. A vine grew around it forming the spiral. The eagle head, foot and feathers for his bustle were also gifted. 'I grew up hunting, fishing living off and with the land and nature.' says Robin. 'I believe it is important we teach our children this and not let modern technology take such a big hold on our children. Teach them to plant, harvest, respect, nurture and pray more.'

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Ojibwe in Red Coat, 2015   It was at the 2015 Sweet Grass Moon powwow in Hopkins, Michigan, that Garth Butler's red coat caught my attention. With dancers from all over the country, a diversity of dancers' regalia is typical, but Garth's stood out. Garth is of Chippewa (Ojibwe) descent. Along with the Anishinaabe nations of Potawatomi and Ottawa, the Chippewa make up the Council of Three Fires. Historically, the Chippewa were one of the largest Indigenous peoples of North America, with communities extending across the Great Lakes region and into Canada. During the War of 1812, Chippewa leaders calculated that an alliance with the British offered the best chance of checking American expansion and protecting their homelands. It was a strategic decision made on their own terms, not simply a choice of sides. Chiefs were sometimes presented with red military coats as diplomatic gifts, visible signs of alliance and mutual obligation. They became prized possessions, and the Hudson's Bay Company carried on the gifting of redcoats to chiefs who had been friendly and of service to them. In spite of their strategies, the nineteenth century brought land cessions and reservations, but Chippewa communities endured in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Besides attending powwows, Garth participated in reenactments and rendezvous. Noted as a storyteller in his home of Howard City, Michigan, he shared the culture of the Michigan tribes with local students. He told them about the importance of family and community and that the wealth of a man was based on how much he gave away. He shared that when food or supplies were needed, 'the woods were their Walmart.' During an interval in the dancing, I approached Garth and told him about Traditional Subjects and expressed my interest in photographing him. We stepped away from the powwow arena to the edge of a typical Michigan woodland. There he posed in his chief's red coat, an antique beaver-skin hat and a hand-carved war club. Below his knees were sashes strung with deer-toe rattles.

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Odawa in Traditional Regalia   Ron Wittenberg serves on the tribal council of the Little River Band of Odawa Indians located in Manistee. In Michigan, the Odawa (Ottawa) traditionally used lands throughout what is now the Lower and Upper Peninsulas of Michigan for hunting, cultivating and gathering. The Little River Band lived along the Manistee River, Pere Marquette River and in several villages on the Grand River. The Odawa are in the Council of Three Fires alliance with the Potawatomi and Ojibwe. All are among the Anishinaabeg nations that inhabited the Great Lakes region and speak variations of the Algonquin language. Ron, a full-blooded Odawa, is wearing a Men's Traditional Regalia consisting of woodlands and western elements. The leggings, for instance, are tight without fringe and his porcupine hair roach is cut back in the front in the woodlands style, but the eagle feather bustle is western. Horse hair dangles from the feather ends. He did the beadwork on his eagle dance stick with colors honoring the service of his brothers and others in Vietnam. Otherwise, 'everything I wear was gifted' by family and friends. His spiritual name is Bah Maa mii Nini meaning Man Looks Around. Ron's turtle shell depicts walking the Red Road into the red and purple sunset: life's journey. The colors around the perimeter and the yellow dots on the feathers of his fan represent the four directions. Yellow is the east and the start of a new day.

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Navajo painter, RC Gorman   On an extremely hot summer's evening in June 1994, RC Gorman sat for me on the prairie near his Taos, New Mexico home. He was sweltering under a 100-year-old wool blanket and gallantly tolerating mosquito bites to pose for this portrait.

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Roy Jealous of Him   Roy Jealous of Him, a Lakota Sioux, outside his one room cabin at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

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