A Visual History
Photographer Dawnee LeBeau is Itazipacola Oohenunpa of the Tetonwan Oyate. She was born and raised on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota, and was introduced to her love of photography when gifted her first Nikon film camera while working on a tribal youth project.
Dawnee is inspired by portrait, landscape, and documentary photography. She currently resides on the Cheyenne River Reservation with her two beautiful wakanyeja (children). She gardens, promotes wellness, the Lakota language, cultural values, and minimalism, all while photographing the beautiful and talented oyate (people) of her community.
“On this day, we had a successful hunt to nourish our family
On this day, we had a battle
On this day, we had a child born, and it was beautiful
Pictographs spread across a buffalo hide tell of specific moments in time, records of everyday happenings. This is how Dawnee understands how Winter Counts were used by her people to tell a visual story of their history. It aligns with her desire to capture moments within her family and her community.
Photography creates community connection for Dawnee whether she takes portrait studios in a cozy space in her home or in open spaces.
“I work and move within the idea that the entire world is your studio,” Dawnee says. “You can capture an image of anybody or any landscape where you’re at, as long as you have consent. I’m super aware of other people’s spaces. But my community here on the reservation have opened their homes and said, ‘Yes, use that space anytime.’”
“I believe photography helps us to continue with a modern form of documentation for our Indigenous people,”
With her 2020 First Peoples Fund Cultural Capital Fellowship, Dawnee plans to host photography camps for youth who will interact with family and community members of all ages.
“I want them to engage in how they’re doing preservation work within their families,” she says.
A similar time came for Dawnee when she took part in the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. The photojournalism project highlighted a diverse group of ranchers who live and work together on the Cheyenne River Reservation.
“It took a lot for me to ask, ‘Can I take these pictures of you and show them to the world?’” Dawnee says. “That’s asking a lot because this is our personal space, but I also feel the history should be told. Our wonderful livelihood and how we create community, that needs to be seen. My family and community were wonderful. They said, ‘Come on down. We’re feeding cows on this day; we’re giving shots to horses on that day.’”
Similar to Winter Counts, Dawnee is documenting everyday moments of life like her people have for centuries.
“I believe photography helps us to continue with a modern form of documentation for our Indigenous people,” she says.
Dawnee believes in the importance of combining today’s modern day lifestyle with the traditions of Tetonwan people. “It is essential for Indigenous people to have balance and to bring dialogue and diversity to conversations in the community and in the world,” she says.
Her project will bring the community together to share experiences while learning how to preserve the history of the community through photography.
