Exhibit celebrates 100 years of indigenous photography

PALMER — This summer a traveling exhibit called “Our People, Our Land, Our Images,” is on display at the Palmer Museum of History and Art.

The show includes 51 works by three generations of indigenous photographers from North America, South America, the Middle East and New Zealand.

The exhibition is a rare and relatively recent opportunity to “view indigenous peoples through the eyes of indigenous photographers.”

The show features work by 26 artists, including Cherokee woman Jennie Ross Cobb — the earliest known female Native American photographer — and Alaska Natives Larry McNeil, Erica Lord and Benjamin A. Haldane.

In an effort to personalize the exhibit, the Palmer Museum partnered with the Alaska Native Heritage Center to include additional photographs from various Alaska Native artists within the exhibit.

“It is our hope that this feature will allow visitors to relate more to the exhibit and inspire them to learn more about the native groups in the state of Alaska,” said museum Executive Director Selena Ortega-Chiolero.

A celebration of the exhibit is planned from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., July 11 in conjunction with the Palmer Midsummer Garden and Art Faire. The celebration features Alaska Native artists and artisans, a variety of cultural organization information tables, and live performances from indigenous groups residing in Alaska, including the Polynesian dance group, “Pacific Bloom,” and the Yup’ik band “Pamyua,” which plays “tribal funk” and “world music.”

The Palmer Museum — the only institution in the state of Alaska to host this remarkable exhibit — is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., through Aug. 2. Admission is free.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Cook Inlet Tribal Council, City of Palmer, Alaska Humanities Forum and the Dorothy G. Page Museum in Wasilla.

The exhibit is on tour through ExhibitsUSA, a national program of Mid-America Arts Alliance. ExhibitsUSA sends more than 25 exhibitions on tour to more than 100 small- and mid-sized communities every year.

For more information, visit maaa.org and palmermuseum.org.