The Navajo people of Canyon de Chelly

While traveling in the late 1980s I found myself in Arizona and a vast region known as the Navajo reservation within which lies Canyon De Chelly. This event caused a profound change in me that initiated a different way of seeing the world in which we live.  By recognizing the circle of harmony the Navajo people exist in I found the ability to bring calm to my own life.

At this time a distinctive change occurred in my work, I became more in touch with the land and the people living in it. In 1997 I started a photographic project of the Navajo people of Canyon de Chelly.  My interest in Canyon de Chelly and the Navajo people who call it home has increased enormously over the years.  I have developed a personal relationship with many of the people you will see in the images presented in the Project. Because of this I was able to photograph family members including multiple generations of a single family.

I have worked carefully over the years to capture their world, to capture the beauty of the canyon they live in and around.   There is so much that has taken place in Canyon de Chelly that is part of both the Native American history and the western expansion of the United States.

It has been my privilege to photograph the native people of the canyon. These are the people who still work the land, grow their crops, care for their livestock, weave rugs and make beautiful silver and turquoise jewelry.

I continue my work on this project and will be presenting the work in a gallery or museum in the near future.