As Long as the Waters Flow: Native Americans in the South and East


In the mid-1990s, writer Frye Gaillard approached me to provide photographs for a book project entitled As Long as the Waters Flow: Native Americans in the South and East. For many Native Americans, the 20th century had been a difficult time, one when their rights seemed to be under constant assault. By the end of the century, multiple tribes were reasserting their identities. Frye and I traveled to 33 Native American communities ranging from Maine to Florida and from the Great Lakes to Louisiana to document the reality of this native renewal. Ultimately, As Long as the Waters Flow sheds light on the challenges the various tribes were facing in those regions, all while honoring the tribal members who had worked diligently to uphold their native identity in the face of the dominant culture. I’m proud to say that the images from this project continue to be exhibited widely in museums, galleries, and Native American cultural centers.


For extended captions, click on image.

Anna Brown Branham, Catawba, Catawba Nation, SC 1997
Ciara Rainsing Bluewolf, Age 3, Oneida, New York 1998
Billy Smith, Creek, Poarch, AL 1997
Anna Barber, Jena Choctaw, Jena, LA 1997
Donald Sanipass, Micmac, Presque Isle, ME 1997
Mary Sanipass, Micmac, Presque Isle, ME 1997
Gene Martin, Chicora-Siouan Chief, Andrews, SC 1997
Billboard Near Chicora-Siouan Headquarters, SC 1997
Grey Hawk Perkins, Houma, Kenner, LA 1997
Ray Littleturtle, Lumbee, Robeson County, NC 1997
Ed Chekelelee, Cherokee Elder, Snowbird, NC 1997
Esbee Gibson, Choctaw, Conehatta, MS 1997
Emma Taylor, Cherokee, Birdtown, NC 1997
Sam Proctor, Oklahoma Creek, Aiken, SC 1998
Amanda Crowe, Cherokee, Cherokee, NC 1997
Grandsons of Sanford Locklear, Lumbee, Robeson County, NC 1997
Robert Bushyhead, Cherokee, Cherokee, NC 1997
Tecumseh Deerfoot Cook, Pamunky Reservation, VA 1997
Mary Jones, Jena Choctaw, Jena, LA 1997
Sam Sapiel, Penobscot, Mt. Katahdin, ME 1997
Burton Langley, Coushatta, Elton, LA 1997
Original Cherokee Casino, Cherokee, NC 1997
Carl Hunt, Lumbee, Robeson County, NC 1997
Mary Verret, Houma, Theriot, LA 1997
Michael Schindler, Seneca, Cattaraugus Reservation, NY 1997
Edward Smoke, St. Regis Band of Mohawks, Akwesasne, NY 1997
Phillip Martin, Choctaw Chief, Philadelphia, MS 1997
Eddie Tullis, Creek Tribal Chairman, Poarch, AL 1997
Maranda Leach, Catawba, Catawba Nation, SC 1996
Earl Evans, Haliwa-Saponi, Pembroke, NC 1997
Vernon and Berta Welch, Wampanoag Community, MA 1998
Rachael and Kay Ensing, Haliwa-Saponi, Halifax County, NC 1997
Eli Rickard, Tuscarora, Tuscarora Reservation, NY 1997
Cecil Garvin, Ho-Chunk, Muscoda, WI 1997
Kermit Chavis, Lumbee, Robeson County, NC 1997
Gravesite of Chief Calvin McGhee, Creek, Poarch, AL 1997
Wilford "Longhair" Taylor, MOWA Choctaw, Mt. Vernon, AL 1997
Buffalo Tiger, Miccosukee, Miccosukee Res., FL 1998
Bobby C. Billie, Seminole, Everglades, FL 1998