In 2005, I founded a photography program for youths on the Cheyenne River Reservation, SD. In this ongoing project, my students and I photograph together, and are all subjects and photographers. Our favorite locations are the fields and abandoned buildings on the fringes of town, forgotten places thick with the past that lend themselves to imaginary games and textured photographs. Children have a unique ability to experience love and joy alongside pain, without compartmentalizing their experiences. I seek to convey this complexity. My images explore play as a vehicle through which youth reveal and negotiate their emotions.
Childhood freedom is an integral part of life on the Cheyenne River Reservation, yet it is often overlooked by both outsiders and those in the community. By presenting images of obvious and essential details of life, I hope to expand the conversation about the reservation. I hope to direct viewers' attention beyond the shadows of the larger, more attention-grabbing circumstances.