I want the world
to know . . .

I want the world to know we as Tewa people still exist. We continue to live in communities that our ancestors once inhabited and remain strongly connected to our culture, our language, our songs, our dances and our customs. We are resilient. We carry an ancient wisdom of connection passed down through generations. Our strength is grounded in our relationship to the elements, to space and time, to our sacred places, to Mother Earth, to the Creator and to our values. Connection is the medicine for an ailing world.

I ask you to view these photographs with the same reverence you would view an action of the utmost value and importance. The energy that shines through us fought to be here through Spanish colonialism, the U.S. government, residential schools, displacement of native children and ongoing law and policy aimed at stripping away our sovereignty and safety. We are real people. We will continue to pass down our ancestral knowledge to future generations. We will continue the work of the ones before us who sacrificed so much for us to be able to stand here still connected to our culture and our way of life.

~THAMU TSAN, Tewa (Marquel)