In 2005, I founded a photography program for youth on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. In this ongoing program, my students and I photograph together, while acting as both the subject and the photographer. Our favorite locations are the fields and abandoned buildings on the fringes of town. These are forgotten places that are thick with the past, which lend the youth to imaginary games and textured photographs.

The absence of an adult presence is evident in both the children’s behavior and images. Empowered by the safety of this small town, the children are able to play and explore freely. They have developed a community that operates largely without adult intervention.

Children have the unique ability to experience love, joy, and pain simultaneously, without compartmentalizing their experiences. I seek to convey this complexity. My images explore play as a vehicle through which youths reveal and negotiate their emotions.

Over the course of five years, my students and I have documented their relationships between one another and the land. The validity and meaning of my images are linked to the shared context of their creation. Ultimately, my work will be exhibited alongside the children’s photographs, which will present the other parts of the whole.