Riders of the Buffalo Nations

In Riders of the Buffalo Nations, photographer Doug Hancock explores the youth culture of the First Nations in the reservations of South Dakota and Montana. His striking images show how the traditional culture of the indigenous communities has changed over time. In his pictures, the rodeo is a metaphor for the daily fight for survival in the hard reality of life on the reservation. Hancock’s photographs bear testimony to the challenges and problems facing his young subjects without, however, reducing them to mere victims. Instead, he portrays them in all their complexity: hopeful, contemplative, reckless, ambitious—and full of potential. Riders of the Buffalo Nations is a sensitive and powerful portrait of a generation forced to hold their ground between a multifaceted cultural heritage and the complexities of modern life.