Mass on the San Carlos Apache Reservation

Julia Dean and A. Jay Adler have been traveling across the country for the last eight months telling the story of life on Native American reservations through photography and writing. “It seems to us that Native Americans don’t get talked about a lot in America unless you live next to a reservation or have anything to do with Native Americans,” Dean says. “As journalists, we are just trying to do a little something about it.” You can read more about their project in my previous blog post on their work and on their blog, The Sad Red Earth. This week we’re featuring another of Dean’s photo essays, The Catholic Church.

The American Indian Church

Seven and a half months ago, professional photographer and educator Julia Dean and English professor A. Jay Adler rented out their apartments, traded in their cars for a motor home, and took to the road to document life on Native American reservations across the country. “It seems to us that Native Americans don’t get talked about a lot in America unless you live next to a reservation or have anything to do with Native Americans,” Dean says. “As journalists, we are just trying to do a little something about it.” Dean and Adler’s work depicts the complexities of Native American life from a variety of perspectives, changing with each reservation they visit. Each reservation has its own unique set of obstacles and successes, giving them a wide range of foci.