Photos by Romario Bautista
“What I’m most proud of is being able to be proud of who I am, in the sense of being able to identify as being Native American, as Indian, as indigenous, because I was always ashamed of that, growing up,” says Romario Garcia Bautista, a junior journalism major at the SOJC. Bautista, of the Zapotec tribe, feels influenced by his upbringing in both Oaxaca, Mexico and in southern California, which makes him trilingual in English, Spanish, and Zapotec.
Bautista’s family attempted to hide much of their culture when they moved to California in order to fit in, but that didn’t stop Bautista’s desire to learn about his heritage.
Bautista set out to tell stories of Zapotec people by interviewing, filming, and photographing the women of his tribe, where there is a high rate of sexual assault, depression, misogyny and discrimination among indigenous women. Much of this he witnessed growing up.
There is also a renewed sense of empowerment as these women express their Indigenous culture, he says.
Miriam Garcia, for example, dances The Dance of the Feather, which dates back to the time when the Spanish arrived in present-day Mexico. The dance tells the story of colonization and indigenous resistance. Traditionally performed by the men of the Zapotec tribe, Miriam Garcia had wanted to perform the dance since she was a little girl and fought to be allowed this honor.
“I just want to remember them, remember that they were here, that they are still here, give them a voice that they are important, that they are valuable, and kind of just use my platform to honor them,” Bautista said.
— Eric Schucht, SOJC student
“The pay is excellent. I can go work a month or a month-and-a-half during the summer time and that would be [the same as] if I had stayed home and almost worked all year. That’s kind of the reason we do it— it’s for the money,” says Judge Hall, who is a Blackfeet, 62 years old, and lives on a ranch that lies along Birch Creek on the south end of the Blackfeet Reservation. His family has been ranching along Birch Creek for several generations, and his siblings live both upstream and downstream of Judge’s ranch.
Part of the Screen Actors Guild Hall has acted for 30 years, playing the role of a Native American in well known films such as Dances with Wolves.
“The older ones are pretty funky, but for the most part, I think the directors try to portray the Natives as they was,” Hall said. “They’re just not these crazy savages running around villages raping and pillaging people and stealing stuff. That’s how they was portrayed in the beginning, and I think [with] a lot of the stuff now, they’ll kind of do some research on it and stuff.”
Now, Hall wants to get his grandson TJ involved in the industry, as well.
“There’s a big opportunity out there for these younger guys,” Hall said. “We broke into the business years and years ago, so it’s kind of time. It would be three generations, so that’d be pretty cool.”
— Shawn Medow, SOJC student
Above, while his cousin Shayanna photographed their great uncle Judge Hall, Devyn Campbell relaxed on the horse he rode on to the top of a ridge behind their ranch. Devyn doesn’t remember a time when he wasn’t on horseback. “I’d rather ride than walk. Anywhere.”
— Torsten Kjellstrand, SOJC faculty