Interview with Hamidah Glasgow of Strange Fire Collective
One thing I have begun to explore lately within photography is going beyond changing the narrative we tell of indigenous peoples. I’m trying to show the dominant culture what it is like to see the world from a Native point of view, yet even that’s not quite right. In this interview for the Strange Fire Collective, I speak about making photographs as looking at the contemporary world, strange as it is, though indigenous lenses. That’s what Hamidah Glasgow has pulled out of me in my many conversations I’ve had with her over the last several months. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I’ve enjoyed talking to Hamidah.
A great way to illustrate this is the reaction to an image of a butchered seal. From an indigenous viewpoint, that seal meat is a gift from the seal, and it’s nourishing food. From the colonial gaze, it’s either seen as quaint and exotic or as a repulsive tradition.
Excerpt from Strange Fire Interview
January 29, 2019 @ 9:18 pm
Your perspective and ambition is incredible. I guess yes, Indigeneity through a lens does have to change. Indigenous art has to consciously decolonize and exist for the joy/preservation of tradition, more than educating the outer world.
January 29, 2019 @ 9:43 pm
I love your work and this interview is inspiring to me as a circumpolar photographer – thank you!
October 3, 2022 @ 11:04 pm
Another beautiful and enlightening interview. I’m in love with the way you help people/me better understand indigenous perspectives and how you evaluate your own heritage. The photos juxtaposed along the interview in this one made it particularly striking.