The purpose of this project
Lost to officer-related violence.
I am making photographic images for a visual photo essay on Indigenous lives lost to law enforcement. This project began by taking a photograph of my grandmother at the location where my little brother was killed by police in Fairbanks, Alaska. My grandmother holds a framed photo of my brother while carrying my 10-month-old son, who shares my brother's namesake. For this project, and for me, this is a first step: I am inviting other Indigenous families that have lost a loved one to officer-related brutality to share their stories. As they hold a picture of the lost family member, we will take photographs of the surviving family member at the location where the act of violence occurred.
As a new mother, I am deeply inspired to imagine a just future–a future where my son will live long enough to become an elder–without me ever needing to worry about him being killed by law enforcement. Native Americans are statistically more likely to be killed in police encounters than any other population. My project aims to share the faces and names behind the grim statistics. I want to play an active role in shaping the world my child will grow up in. Art can advance social justice in ways other mediums cannot. My hope is that this visual photo essay is an instrumental change agent in policing recruitment, training, and tactics.
