A partnership with Cowbird

This collection tells the story of life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, told by the people of Pine Ridge in their own unedited words.

About the Project
by Aaron Huey

It all started when an envelope full of letters arrived in my mailbox. They came from high school students at the Red Cloud Indian School after they had seen a photo story of mine on Pine Ridge in 2009. Their letters challenged me to see a different side of the Reservation.

As a photojournalist who has been working on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for the past 7 years, I’ve always struggled with how to share the incredibly complex story of this community. I’ve never been able to tell all the stories that I want to tell on Pine Ridge, and I’ve come to realize that even if I could, I can’t tell them the way the people want them told.