High Country News
Images from the first-known Native American female photographer
The photo essay featured images from the first-known Native American female photographer, Jennie Ross Cobb, a Cherokee Nation citizen who was born in 1881. Her work carried out a simple but powerful task: to show Native people living their lives, not posing for a white man’s camera. Our judges said “seeing Ross’ photographs is like discovering a new world across time. Granting an award to the work of a photographer long gone (and who should have been recognized in her own time) is an opportunity to repair and revisit what we think we know about Indigenous history and culture during Ross’ time.”
Honorable Mentions:
- EdSource – How immigration policy forced a California family apart and disrupted their education by Jennifer Molina, Zaidee Stavely and Coby McDonald
- The Marshall Project – Anatomy of a Murder Confession by Staff
- Texas Tribune – Afghan refugees resettling in Texas find help despite strained resources by Ashley Miznazi, Lauren Santucci and Todd Wiseman