In Light and Shadow: A Photographic History from Indigenous America

A landmark photography collection featuring work exclusively by Indigenous Americans, shedding new light on the understanding of Indigenous America.

The history of photography-and the Americas-is incomplete without the critical work and perspectives of Indigenous American photographers. Since the 1800s, cameras have been in the hands of Indigenous people and they have incorporated photography into their lives as creators, patrons, and collectors.

Five years ago, photographers Brian Adams and Sarah Stacke set off on a mission to assemble a groundbreaking, digital library of Indigenous photographers from the 19th century to the present. With In Light and Shadow: A Photographic History from Indigenous America, Adams and Stacke expand on that work, creating a one-of-a-kind collection of photographs that offers a first-hand look at the people, cultures, and evolving traditions of Indigenous America while providing a counterhistory to settler-colonial narratives.

From Jennie Fields Ross Cobb, the earliest known Indigenous American woman photographer, to Arhuaco documentarian Amado Villafaña Chaparro, through Kapuleiikealoonalani Flores, a Native Hawaiian who was born in 2000, the photographers span many generations as well as multiple Indigenous societies and nations. Each entry includes a biographical sketch of the artist, along with their inspirations and contributions to the photographic medium.

With profiles of 80 photographers and more than 250 photographs, this unique book brings to light the canon of Indigenous American photography that has been developing on its own terms for decades.

Brian Adams (Iñupiaq) is an editorial and commercial photographer based in Anchorage, Alaska, specializing in environmental portraiture. His work has been featured in both national and international publications, and his work documenting Alaskan Native villages has been showcased in galleries across the United States and Europe. His most recent book, I Am Inuit was published in December 2017. Brian is a board member of Indigevsion and a member of Diversify Photo.

Sarah Stacke (Euro-American) is a photographer, author, and archival researcher based in Brooklyn, New York. Through long-term projects created in dialogue with communities, she seeks to share stories about relationships to the land and its histories. Her work appears in the New York Times, National Geographic, the Nation, NPR, and the Washington Post. Sarah is a faculty member at the International Center of Photography and holds a MA from Duke University. In Light and Shadow is her fourth book.