White Earth: Images of Survivance

MSP Terminal 1, See18 Gallery
September 2023 - September 2024

John Ratzloff’s photographic journey on the White Earth Reservation in Northwestern Minnesota began in 1992 with Winifred “Winnie” Jourdain, one of the most prominent and respected grandmothers of the Anishinaabeg. Winnie, then 91, urged John to hold himself accountable to the White Earth community if he intended to take their photographs. “I don’t want you to be running around to all the reservations with your camera. There is plenty of important work for you to do here at White Earth,” she said. John was determined to follow her word.

John spent six years being present at White Earth, meeting the people, learning the values, and recording through his camera what stirred him. His motivation for taking the photos would materialize nearly 20 years after he began: “They want to be a love story. They want to express Gerald Vizenor’s idea of ‘survivance,’ roughly a combination of survival and endurance; a new word, a new noun, a new meaning he invented and I have observed,” says John. Gerald Vizenor, a renowned author from the White Earth Reservation, would himself become a subject of John’s portraiture. In 2014, he would write of John’s photographs:

“John Ratzloff celebrates the cultural survivance and liberty of the Anishinaabeg. His perceptive photographs focus on nature, change of seasons and environment, the scenes and situations of native activities and experiences. The image of a row of trousers frozen on a clothesline, for instance, creates a spectacular sense of winter. The photographs in this collection show the contrast of the landscape, and the personal experiences of the people who clearly trusted the photographer. Curious children, hunters, and the magnificent gestures of ceremonial dancers, Harold Goodsky, Bonnie Rock, and Ron Kingbird are memorable scenes." -Gerald Vizenor

The photos in this exhibition are a selection of the many hundreds of exposures John made in his years visiting White Earth.

Connect with the artist at [email protected].