By Aaron Huey
Published by Radius Books, 2013 – Gift from the publisher –
Location: Currently on loan
In this powerful book, Aaron Huey portrays both the broken social landscape and the ceremonial warrior culture of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The book begins and ends with a traditional Lakota prayer, suggesting that the intervening images may be analogous to a transformative ceremonial experience. The Pine Ridge Reservation, located 75 miles southeast of the Black Hills in South Dakota, is sometimes referred to as Prisoner of War Camp #344, and is now the home of the Oglala Lakota. Sadly, Pine Ridge is now the quintessential example of the failure of the US reservation system imposed upon the Lakota and other tribes, with staggering statistics on everything from violent crime to education. The unemployment rate is nearly 90%, and the life expectancy for men is 48, roughly the same as in Afghanistan and Somalia.
Huey stumbled upon Pine Ridge seven years ago. Since then he has created one of the single largest bodies of work on a contemporary Indian Reservation. His colour photographs stand as a testament to the incredible difficulties facing the tribe and the reparations yet to be made to them, but also to the strength and beauty of their spirit, which shines through all of the darkness. This new edition contains three inserts of new images and has a traditional binding (whereas the first edition featured a “lay-open” binding).
