The Return
The Return depicts a loosely banded tribe of people living nomadically throughout the western states of Idaho, Nevada, California and Oregon. Traveling with the seasons, the subjects of The Return, utilize traditional hunter-gatherer skills along with the knowledge of indigenous food crops, to follow an ancient way of life known as “the Hoop”. The Return is a collaboration with the Native American ritualist Timothy White Eagle. From the beginning we held the intention of creating a kind of mythic portrait of a people, a place and an ideal. From 2006 to 2012 we traveled with a group of fierce individuals who wish to embody the ideal of living a symbiotic relationship with the Earth, based on the life way of early Native Americans.
“The subjects in “The Return” are predominately not indigenous Native Americans. Most carry European ancestry. And most come in one form or another from the disenfranchised margins of main stream America. Most are poor, some are queer, some are trans-gendered, some are hermits and some are politically radical. All believe that major shifts are needed in the way modern society interacts with the natural world. And all are willing pioneers, stepping off into uncertain terrain searching for something lost generations ago. These new Heroes are on a journey. Like all great heroes, what they desire is to simply return home. For them home is a wild garden; an ideal, a way of life, a return to what once was. The wild garden is a place the human soul knows. Every person has ancestors who lived in that wild garden, it is a universal thing we share.” - Timothy White Eagle
Blood Moustache
Steinacher Creek, California
"JP Hartsong"
Stoneberger Creek, Nevada
Blood Makeup
Steinacher Creek, California
Trek
Marble Mountain Wilderness, California
Cherries
Marble Mountain Wilderness, California
In The Cabin
Arco, Idaho
Sage Field
Lone Pine Ridge, Idaho
"Morning"
Marble Mountain Wilderness, California
Carrying Water
Huddles Hole, Craters of the Moon, Idaho
Creek
Steinacher Creek, California
Coffee
Arco, Idaho
In The Wickiup
Arco, Idaho
Lopi
Wolf Creek, Oregon
Fannie Bird
Marble Mountain Wilderness, California
Amara and Rey
Marble Mountain Wilderness, California
Magpie
Deschutes River Canyon, Oregon
Milking
Marble Mountain Wilderness, California
Searching
Lone Pine Ridge, Idaho
Bitterroot
Lone Pine Ridge, Idaho
Camas Prairie
Idaho
Breadroot
Huddles Hole, Craters of the Moon, Idaho
Grinding Breadroot
Arco, Idaho
Burger King
Mesquite, Nevada
untitled
northeast of Mormon Peak, Nevada
War Shirt
Camas Prairie, Idaho
The Killing Shack
Huddles Hole, Craters of the Moon, Idaho
Wolf Pups
north of Virgin Peak, Nevada
Truck
Dodge Pocket, Nevada
Dodge Pockets
Dodge Pockets, Nevada
Praying
Stoneberger Creek, Nevada
Planting Back
Dodge Pockets, Nevada
Number Hill
Arco, Idaho
Prepping Hide
Arco, Idaho
Smoking Hide
Arco, Idaho
Fire Trap
Dodge Pockets, Nevada
Saving Roots
Arco, Idaho
Mouse In Hand
Dodge Pocket, Idaho
Claw
northeast of Mormon Peak, Nevada
Medicine
Spencer Hot Springs, Nevada
Abandoned Orchard
Marble Mountain Wilderness, California
Badger/Bunny
Dodge Pocket, Nevada
Knife
Dodge Pocket, Nevada
At The River
Deschutes River Canyon, Oregon
Virgin Peaks
Nevada
Bucket
Steinacher Creek, California
Digging
Huddles Holes, Craters of the Moons, Idaho
Waiting
Huddles Hole, Craters of the Moon, Idaho
Dispatched
Arco, Idaho
Drying Jerky
Huddles Hole, Craters of the Moon, Idaho
For Sale
Spencer Hot Springs, Nevada
Longhouse
Wolf Creek, Oregon
Dirty Skirts
Geneva, Oregon
Pulling For Wildflowers
Spencer Hot Springs, Nevada
Heart of the Mother
Horses
Root Camp, Idaho
Back of the Truck
Nevada
Dressing A Carcass
Arco, Idaho
Steak With A Hoof
Huddles Hole, Craters of the Moon, Idaho
Shoe Tree
US-50, Nevada
Mikalia
Deschutes River Canyon, Oregon
Mouse Traps
Dodge Pocket, Nevada
Prairie Dog
Root Camp, Idaho
Gutting A Fish
Deschutes River Canyon, Oregon
Water Dance
Deschutes Canyon River, Oregon
Cleaning Graffiti Off The Rock
Us-20, Idaho
Nightfall
Virgin River, Nevada
Barricade
Marble Mountain Wilderness, California
Sleeping
east of Las Vegas, Nevada
Full Moon
Camp Fire
east of Las Vegas, Nevada
Finisia
The Hoop