Acclaimed Documentary Photographer Carlan Tapp Holds Workshop at Red Cloud’s Heritage Center, Empowers Youth

posted May 9, 2015

Earlier this month, with generous support from the Lannan Foundation and Santa Fe Arts Institute, The Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian School invited acclaimed documentary photographer Carlan Tapp to host a series of workshops on storytelling, camera use and documentary photography. 

Staff participated in a workshop covering hands-on activities, best photographic practices, and the use of technology that will support future educational programming at The Heritage Center. The training emphasized the importance of integrating hands-on learning into the presentation format. Tapp also taught classes for more than 100 first through twelfth grade students on the principles of photography and community storytelling. 

The Heritage Center was also able to purchase 15 brand new, Nikon cameras to supplement the workshops and to provide middle and high school students with opportunities to study photojournalism and increase cultural connectivity.  With new cameras in hand, and smiles on their faces, students were able to interact with and follow along during Tapp’s lessons.

“Many of the students that participated will continue learning about photography through the end of the semester,” says Audrey Jacobs, The Heritage Center’s museum educator.” We are developing projects on artfully documenting their environment, culture, and social justice on the reservation. 

Reflecting on the series of workshops, The Heritage Center has committed to use the cameras and Tapp’s workshop models and techniques to create oral history projects, student art shows, and continued learning opportunities on the fundamentals of visual storytelling. 

“Students from Red Cloud Indian School and other Pine Ridge Reservation schools will have access to continued training, through these sustainable workshopping techniques,” says Jacobs. “Mainstream media often controls the narrative—but the goal is to empower students to tell their community’s story from their own point of view.”

Thanks to the Lannan Foundation, Santa Fe Art Institute and Carlan Tapp, students at Red Cloud are empowered to document their experiences and share their stories.

View photos from the workshop!
Find out how students are sharing their own story through The Heritage Center's Educational Programming