American Indian Culture and Research Journal
Volume 39, Issue 3
Acts of visual sovereignty: Photographic representations of cultural objects.

You can find the link to the entire article here.

Abstract: There are ways of giving new life to cultural objects through the creation of photographic representations. Still life photographs are a medium easily distributable for tribes wishing to archive and advance their material culture. This article focuses on photographic representations of Native cultural objects as its own contemporary artistic practice. We posit that this practice can complement the archiving and preserving needs of museums by facilitating continued knowledge preservation within Native communities.

 

Although the images are printed in black & white in the article, I wanted to share with you a peek at the beautiful color versions.

Beadwork photographs by Pat Hall Walters at the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute in Pendleton, Oregon.

(I highly recommend going someday and seeing all the wonderful exhibits in person as it is quite a treat!)

 

Basket photographs by Pat Hall Walters at the Arrowhead McDonalds on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation near Pendleton, Oregon.

Photos in this post by Pat Hall Walters. Used with permission.