A recent portrait of myself and RWS friend Melissa McCauley. When I see this photo, I think:
I’m tired of seeing images of women (non-Native and Native) donning the stereotypical headdresses, objectified and scantily clad, a fluorescent feathered facade.
We wear business suits and carry textbooks, guitars, our Nations flags, and beautiful babies. We are in business, we are leaders, doctors, professors, mothers, students, musicians, artists, dancers, activists and so much more. Women are the heart of our Nations.
The main goal, and the foundation upon which all portrait/art created by Red Works Studio (RWS), is to empower and inspire others to see the beauty, reality and truth of Indigenous people, and our Nations… today.
Update:
This image is now available for purchase @ Red Works Studio Prints.
“Nadya Kwandibens stepped off a Greyhound bus from Phoenix, Arizona, in Kenora, Ontario, in November 2006 with only her camera and her computer. During the two-and-a-half-day trip, her suitcase, containing all her belongings, had been misplaced at a transfer point in Omaha. She lost her clothing, her native powwow jingle dress, and sacred ceremonial items, like her smudge bowl and an eagle feather her aunt gave her.
