Dine Bikeyah Series
Red earth below our feet, red earth surrounds us,
Red earth fills foreign eyes with natural wonder*
Over the course of three months in the summer of 2010 six photography undergrads documented their individual experiences in the heart of the Navajo Nation in Chinle, AZ.
The photographers were invited onto the land and into the homes of the extended Yazzie family without question as they were traveling with one of their own, undergraduate photography and art history major, Tiffiney Yazzie who coordinated the trips. The group stayed deep on the reservation at the ranch side of the family land and was allowed to explore and see a side of the reservation and its monuments that is often inaccessible to outsiders. They were allowed to participate in daily tasks such as shearing sheep, and cooking out of a cooler with the only modern convenience at the second homestead, propane. They also partook in a meal that was personal and stirring for all of them, that of a freshly killed, skinned, and butchered sheep.
This show is a culmination of the shared and individual experiences that each photographer had, a way to tell each of their own stories as a group.
* Inspired by Laura Tohe’s Libretto Enemy Slayer
MY STORY
On our last day in Chinle, we butchered a lamb for lunch. For the Yazzie family, this is life but for me, it was an experience. An experience that made me more aware of where my food comes from and what happens to it in order for me to eat it. What are the animals injected with, what are they eating and how are they being treated. Although I have thought about this before, it wasn’t until that moment that it sunk in. Everyday people slaughter animals without respect so we can have our quarter pounder without having to face the facts of where it comes from and how it gets to us. These photographs, the remaining blood from the butchering and the last piece of meat I have eaten, represent life changing moments for me.
(These image transfers were created in Tempe, Arizona in 2010. The images were taken on a cultural exchange in Chinle, Arizona in May 2010.)
Red earth fills foreign eyes with natural wonder*
Over the course of three months in the summer of 2010 six photography undergrads documented their individual experiences in the heart of the Navajo Nation in Chinle, AZ.
The photographers were invited onto the land and into the homes of the extended Yazzie family without question as they were traveling with one of their own, undergraduate photography and art history major, Tiffiney Yazzie who coordinated the trips. The group stayed deep on the reservation at the ranch side of the family land and was allowed to explore and see a side of the reservation and its monuments that is often inaccessible to outsiders. They were allowed to participate in daily tasks such as shearing sheep, and cooking out of a cooler with the only modern convenience at the second homestead, propane. They also partook in a meal that was personal and stirring for all of them, that of a freshly killed, skinned, and butchered sheep.
This show is a culmination of the shared and individual experiences that each photographer had, a way to tell each of their own stories as a group.
* Inspired by Laura Tohe’s Libretto Enemy Slayer
MY STORY
On our last day in Chinle, we butchered a lamb for lunch. For the Yazzie family, this is life but for me, it was an experience. An experience that made me more aware of where my food comes from and what happens to it in order for me to eat it. What are the animals injected with, what are they eating and how are they being treated. Although I have thought about this before, it wasn’t until that moment that it sunk in. Everyday people slaughter animals without respect so we can have our quarter pounder without having to face the facts of where it comes from and how it gets to us. These photographs, the remaining blood from the butchering and the last piece of meat I have eaten, represent life changing moments for me.
(These image transfers were created in Tempe, Arizona in 2010. The images were taken on a cultural exchange in Chinle, Arizona in May 2010.)