Tapahe Photography

MY BIRTHDAY WISH
This past Sunday was my birthday, to celebrate, Sharon and I went to our usual place to get away, to refill the well, and remember the days when our two girls were little. The good times at Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park.
As we drove, reminiscing about our picnic spots, hikes, and scenery, we came to Jackson Lake. As we drove over the reservoir, we found it almost empty.
The lake looked like a stream; it trickled into the reservoir and slowly crept through the concrete wall. I was in shock! I’ve been coming here since my girls were born. Since becoming a professional landscape photographer 12 years ago, I never imagined this would happen.
We stopped. I gathered my camera equipment and, with tears in my eyes, stumbled down the dam’s concrete wall. I came to the flat of the lake. I instantly smelled death. With every step, I could hear the crunch of dry, dead shells of freshwater mussels.
As I came almost to the center of the dry lake, I knelt and laid my hand on the hard, cracked clay. I felt I had let Mother Earth down and it was my fault for not doing my part. I cried and screamed into the air. The beauty, the tranquil sound of the waves hitting the shore, and the rush of the tides from the horizon were just memories now. What have we done? Jackson Lake is only 18% full!
I wiped the tears from my eyes and began documenting the lake. I took photos of this catastrophe, this riot of the land, this killing, this unimaginable greed. I have taken so many beautiful photographs here; the land has given me so many beautiful memories—it gives and gives—and we keep taking and taking.
As I walked away, I left an offering and a prayer. I promised to be and do better. I prayed for the water, for all the living creatures that depend on the lake for life.
While climbing back up the steep concrete wall, I remembered 10 years ago I was at the Standing Rock camps fighting for the water, the cry, “Water is Life!” The words, the prayers are still here, still alive inside us. We can all make a change if we can be one. We all need water to live.
My birthday wish: to be a better steward to Mother Earth, and to be a voice for the voiceless.

“THE CLEANSING”
The White Mountain Apache Crown Dances are performed by men who invoke the mountain spirits.
Four dancers representing the four sacred directions (east, west, north, and south) paint their bodies black and white and adorn themselves with lightning designs and animal motifs.
They are accompanied by a fifth dancer, painted gray, an unpredictable Clown who serves as a messenger to the Spirit People. On the Clown’s head is a symbol of the unity of the whole universe—the cross, often in a circle, signaling the four directions and the totality of creation.
The Clown is a sacred being, endowed with great Power by Thunder or the Thunder Beings themselves. In this way, the Clown’s fooling around is far from foolish. Instead, it is a serious spiritual element that underscores the randomness of catastrophe and the importance of love, friendship, joy, and community amid chaos and death.
The Clown is always first and last. He is the most important. He is the MC and the force behind the Crown Dancers. The Clown serves as a protector of the other dancers, warding off evil spirits with his whistle string and dance, and ultimately bringing joy.
The five hand-etched stars on the glass represent the spirits of the dancers.
(Photo taken at NAJA Conference, Joe Tohannie Dance Group, 2022)

Standing in Prayer
When I went to Standing Rock ten years ago, I wasn’t sure why. Yet I felt compelled to be there, driven by a spiritual instinct. The land called to me; I had visited this place in a dream long before the movement started. This sacred gathering was my introduction to the healing power of the ceremonial jingle dress dance. This dance took place in South Dakota, on a highway after a military attack, with a bridge separating the sides. On one side, the healing dance took place; on the other, military Humvees and snipers were on alert. Since the dress’s origin more than a hundred years ago, it has continued to heal the world. Amid the world’s chaos and illness, Native and Non-native people found healing and unity in the harmonious sound of the cones, which has reconnected us to the land and embodied our ancestors’ prayers.
The tragic and racial events of the Standing Rock camps were just the beginning; they escalated during COVID-19, from George Floyd to women’s rights to political and racial clashes, and most recently the deaths of Alex Pretti and Nicole Good. During these events, people turned to the ceremonial jingle dress dance for healing. The senseless deaths of Floyd, Pretti, and Good were honored with dance. The traditional healing and sound of the jingle dress dance were heard throughout the modern-day streets.
The spiritual fire lit ten years ago at Standing Rock is still burning and the prayers of the camps are still powerful. It has brought the world’s attention to the fact that we are still here, and our resilience, and ceremonies are our connection to the land and water.

EXHIBITION IN SANTA FE, NM
We’re excited to announce our exhibition, Eugene Tapahe Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project and Standing Rock Movement, at the Monroe Gallery of Photography in Santa Fe, NM. It opens Thursday, August 13, 2026, and runs through November 1, including the weekend of Santa Fe Indian Market.
Join us for a reception and artist talk on Thursday, August 13, 2026, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., I will share my insights and the dream that has brought healing through my art.
Ten years ago, at the Standing Rock camps in North Dakota, I documented the Ojibwe ceremonial jingle dress dance honoring the water protectors. Since then, through Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project, I have continued to document this dance, bringing healing, hope, and unity during times of trauma, fear, and uncertainty, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you miss the artist talk or would like to view more photography and art, you can visit us at our booth LIN W 763 during the Santa Fe Indian Market on Saturday and Sunday, August 15-16, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Please let us know if you have any questions or would like to schedule a meeting during this week. We hope to see you there!

EXHIBITION IN SANTA FE, NM
We're excited to announce our exhibition, Eugene Tapahe Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project and Standing Rock Movement, at the Monroe Gallery of Photography in Santa Fe, NM. It opens Thursday, August 13, 2026, and runs through November 1, including the weekend of Santa Fe Indian Market.
Join us for a reception and artist talk on Thursday, August 13, 2026, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., I will share my insights and the dream that has brought healing through my art.
Ten years ago, at the Standing Rock camps in North Dakota, I documented the Ojibwe ceremonial jingle dress dance honoring the water protectors. Since then, through Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project, I have continued to document this dance, bringing healing, hope, and unity during times of trauma, fear, and uncertainty, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you miss the artist talk or would like to view more photography and art, you can visit us at our booth LIN W 763 during the Santa Fe Indian Market on Saturday and Sunday, August 15-16, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Please let us know if you have any questions or would like to schedule a meeting during this week. We hope to see you there!

BOOK UPDATE:
We received so many beautifully written submissions this past month that we extended our deadline for written submissions to August 21, 2026. The book’s new release date is now the end of September 2026.
If you would still like to participate, we are requesting a 300-500-word write-up or one to two sentences expressing your thoughts on the project. If you’re interested, please message me, and we will send you the details.
————————————
The much-anticipated book, “Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project,” will feature more than 180 pages and showcase numerous photos, behind-the-scenes images, stories, and guest-written submissions. We would love to include your story, experience, or reflection on the project.

BOOK UPDATE:
We received so many beautifully written submissions this past month that we extended our deadline for written submissions to August 21, 2026. The book's new release date is now the end of September 2026.
If you would still like to participate, we are requesting a 300- to 500-word write-up or one to two sentences expressing your thoughts on the project. If you're interested, please message me, and we will send you the details.
-----------------------------------
The much-anticipated book, “Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project," will feature more than 180 pages and showcase numerous photos, behind-the-scenes images, stories, and guest-written submissions. We would love to include your story, experience, or reflection on the project.

CAPTURING A MOMENT IN TIME
Back in 1992, I started my photography career without even realizing it. I asked Tom Arviso, Jr., then the Managing Editor, if I could start writing stories because designing the newspaper and advertising was getting boring. He gave me a camera and told me to see Paul, Paul Natonabah. He will tell you what to do.
I went to Paul, told him what Tom said, and we were quickly off in his truck. I asked where we were going. He said the fairgrounds. We were going to shoot the rodeo. Let me remind you, at this time... I didn't even know how to use a camera, and we were using film! He quickly gave me a few photography tips: this is the button to press to take a photo, these dials control the aperture and exposure, and you move this dial on the lens to focus. What?! Then he said, "You only have twelve shots, so don't waste them.”
I held this tool and began to familiarize myself with it: the lens, the focus mechanism, and the viewfinder. I circled the rodeo grounds, way up in the bleachers, looking for a photo to take through the viewfinder. I really had no idea what I was doing or what would happen next.
Paul, you have to know that during this time with me, he was quiet. He observed from a distance. To me, he instructed with few words, simply showing you what to do through his actions. I soon realized that, over the years of knowing him, I admired this in him and have used this perspective in my own life: observe, assess, and then help.
Paul waved at me. He stood in the rodeo pit, in the dirt, in front of the bucking chutes. I stared at him, frozen… Are you kidding me? He kept waving me down to the chutes. I climbed over the board fence and down into the pit, then stumbled through the thick dirt to the chutes. I stood by Paul; my heart was pumping. I was scared; all I had was this little black-and-silver camera to hide behind. Lucky for me, that day it was only bull riding, NOT! I was out of my element; I wanted to get out of there.
The chute opened, and I mimicked Paul’s every move. We positioned ourselves at a safe distance from the rider and bull so our images would be in focus. I was just trying not to die. Then, without warning, the bull turned, and I ran the wrong way. Paul went one way, and I went the other. I thought the bull was chasing me, but it was just doing “bull stuff,” and I was in the way. As I ran in front of the bull, I quickly captured a couple of photos.
From then on, I was hooked! Paul and I went back to the Navajo Times darkroom, and he taught me how to develop film. We talked enthusiastically about the rodeo and laughed about almost being trampled by a bull. I told him the truth about not knowing how to use a camera. He was surprised, and from that moment on, we finally had something to talk about.
Over the years, I became the Managing Editor and Paul’s boss. I remember the first time he called me boss. He said, “I knew you would be boss one day. From the moment I saw you running from that bull, I knew you would be someone important. Not everyone has the guts to climb into a rodeo pit to capture a moment in time, and I’m not talking just about the rodeo.”
Today, when people ask me when I started using a camera, I share this moment in my life with more detail and emotion. I will miss you, Sik’uzzii! We had some good times, laughs, talks, and late-night mishaps at the newspaper. You always had my back, and I will continue to have yours. Through my work and stories, I will share our rodeo experience in the future. It will live on forever.
Side Note: You were probably wondering what happened to the photos I took on this first outing: one of them won an award at the annual Arizona Newspaper Association conference. Thank you, Tom and Paul. You have been great leaders and mentors to this little rez kid. True story.

Paul Natonabah, longtime Navajo Times photographer, dies at 82 - Navajo Times Paul Natonabah, whose photographs documented more than four decades of Diné history for the Navajo Times, died Saturday, July 25. He was 82.

BOOK UPDATE
It’s been a wonderful few weeks reading the submissions so far. This is going to be a memorable book of unity and healing. Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project has been special to many people around the world. I am grateful to everyone participating. If you would like to participate, it’s not too late. The deadline is tomorrow. If you will need more time, please let me know.
-—————
The much-anticipated book, “Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project,” will feature more than 150 pages and showcase numerous photos and stories from our project. We would love to include your story, experience, or reflection on the project.
We are requesting a 300- to 500-word write-up or one to two sentences expressing your thoughts on the project and your personal experience of its impact on you, the community, or the world. If you’re interested, please message me, and I will send you the details.

BOOK UPDATE
It's been a wonderful few weeks reading the submissions so far. This is going to be a memorable book of unity and healing. Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project has been special to many people around the world. I am grateful to everyone participating. If you would like to participate, it's not too late. The deadline is this Friday, July 24. If you will need more time, please let me know.
----------------
The much-anticipated book, “Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project," will feature more than 150 pages and showcase numerous photos and stories from our project. We would love to include your story, experience, or reflection on the project.
We are requesting a 300- to 500-word write-up or one to two sentences expressing your thoughts on the project and your personal experience of its impact on you, the community, or the world. If you're interested, please message me, and I will send you the details.