The red road project-2013
The red road project is a fascinating editorial, documentary project that started off as a trip the USA ,as part of Cardana's friends request for her to join in on her friends native American ceremonies. After she came back she got the offer to evolve and expand the project as a commission for the magazine (Marie Clare),showing women of the tribe. This project gained success all over the world apart the USA as they were not used to seeing the native American tribes being represented in such a positive journalistic aesthetic.
The majority of this project was shot on film a creative choice by the photographer. The commission then evolved into the website the red road project.com which is a website that is being used as resources to educate others on native American culture today.
The red road project has an overview page that is linked to blog still post containing images found from other sources as well as charlotte’s own. The boarding school archive demonstrates how native American children were abused, taken from their families and culture to boarding schools where the abuse continues. The children received the minimum of education and were taken back to the reservations to work. They were never given thew same opportunities as white children. In this post there are archive images from the library of congress depicting the children from as young as 5-18 years old.
The website also shed light on not just the history of the native culture but also activism where the government are destroying their home for pipelines which has had great environmental implications too.
However, my favourite part of this project is the way it demonstrates the native American cultures, and the way it highlights women within the cultures in such a positive and different way to other journalist photographers. This project is incredibly relevant today given that we are in 2021 and women are still being abused, assaulted and even killed for just being a woman, regardless of their culture or believes, but simply for their gender.
[IMAGES FOUND:RED ROAD PROJECT.COM]
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