Photographing in the Land of Enchantment

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In 1989 Kennedy had done a photo essay on the Ojibwa Sioux activist Leonard Peltier, imprisoned at Leavenworth Penitentiary. Peltier's long incarceration for the supposed murder of an FBI agent has been the subject of hot debate for years. Kennedy had long supported Native American causes and his involvement with the American Indian Movement (AIM) had grown into a commitment. His wife Lucy and son Jesse are part Native American. The session with Peltier fueled Kennedy's interest in Native American issues. In the summer of 1991, he drove to the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Sioux Reservations in South Dakota to participate in a benefit for Peltier, and to photograph the Fancy Dancers at the Brotherhood Gathering. In an era when traditional regalia is giving way to commercially dyed feathers and store-bought fabrics, Kennedy photographed the authentic Fancy Dancers blurred by motion and energy, capturing the spirit of the dance rather than its outer trappings. In the dark and evocative palladium prints, swirling feathered headdresses transform the performers into something between human and animal -- reflecting the mystical tradition that the dancer becomes whatever he or she is dancing.

Back in New Mexico, Kennedy decided to produce a portfolio of Native American dancers from the eight northern pueblos: Tesuque, Pojoaque, Nambe, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, San Juan, Picuris, and Taos. The portfolio would bring together all of Kennedy's talents; portraiture, motion photography, land and skyscapes, and the palladium process. His intention to give something back to the Indians was arranged whereby a percentage of any original photograph sold would go to the pueblos. Despite a reoccurrence of severe spinal problems in 1993 which put Kennedy into surgery and a lengthy recovery, he began the difficult process of convincing the governing body of the Eight Northern Pueblos that the portfolio would benefit them. His long-term plan is to continue the project with the Hopi, Sioux and Apache tribes, among others. Ultimately, he hopes to see a book of the photographs showing the living tradition of Native American dancing.