portraits | Open Chutes

The Eastern Shoshone and Arapaho powwow that was held in June of 2016 was a wonderful event full of dancing, singing and ceremony that showed just how proud the participants are of their culture and history. They were more than willing to answer questions about their tribal history and other activities that were being presented. This was a spectacular event and I am more than grateful for their kindness and friendship and I thank them for it. Below is a series of portraits of various participants who attended the event and I will let the images speak for themselves with the minimum amount of comment, other than to say what an honor it is to be able to join and observe this important part of their lives.

Readying himself to lead the honor guard into the Grand Entry

Dancing in all of her finery

A proud warrior ready to enter the circle

Experience shows

A proud young warrior

Observing the activity

The dance is all important as he puts his heart and soul into it

Calm and serene she makes the circle

Watching and listening

Modern and traditional, the two meld perfectly

A young face and a great smile

Women, the heart of a nation, dancing

The dancing goes on late into the night

These eyes have seen many dances

Beads, feathers, pride in culture all represented here in its finest

Seeing into the past, looking forward to the future

Confidence shows why elders are respected

Beautiful bead-work on a proud woman

A strong portrait of a man secure in his culture

It is always a time for reflection when you are in the circle

These portraits barely scratch the surface of the many participants of this powwow. In the future we will be posting more images of these wonderful people. Check back often for updates.

Portraits are about people. About emotion, attitude, about the way they’re feeling. What you see first of course is how they look, which after you study a portrait for awhile becomes the least important part of the process. What is important is whether the portrait engages you. Whether it makes you stop and look at it and perhaps feel a bond take place with the subject. It creates a connection that is difficult to put into words but is real just the same. Hopefully that will happen for you as view these portraits of members of the Crow tribe. They are a striking people.

There will be very few words used to describe the images. You know what you’re seeing and you know how it affects you. This is a moment where you get to quietly meet a wonderful group of people. These are people of the Crow Nation.