A Gesture of Kinship examines the photographic history of a group of Navajo people, documented by photographer Bruce Hucko. The exhibition is the product of a partnership between Hucko and humanities scholar, Dr. Donna Deyhle.

 

The exhibition features documentary photographs and insightful interviews with young Navajos coupled with additional photos and interviews with the same subjects 20 years later. Composites of these interactions offer a rarely-seen view of everyday life on the reservation, insights into what changes and what stays the same in the community, and a look at internal and external influences on a Navajo life.

 

A Gesture of Kinship also challenges viewers to consider their own cultural dynamics, expanding the narrative to broadly human concerns impacted by globalization: ethnicity, community, tradition, and innovation. These are images with the potential to dispel stereotypes and to introduce audiences to what it means to be Navajo in the 21st century.