In October 2009, I was commissioned to travel to five Native Alaskan villages over a four-day period to make photographs of local artists and business owners. From Anchorage, I traveled to Kotzebue and then to Noatak, Kivalina, Noorvik, and Kiana. The job was difficult at times, and it felt a bit jarring; spending less than a day in some of the villages, I had to heighten my sense of seeing to capture both moments and images that conveyed a unique sense of place. Perhaps the most rewarding part of the experience was that I was able to witness the distinct similarities and differences between the villages, from the rough, open sea waters of Kivalina to the quiet river of Noatak, and see why each village chose their location based off of what the land had to offer.

Alaska Water Wars is a multimedia project that shares the stories of Alaska Native people as they navigate the benefits and risks posed by new natural resource development projects coming to their regions. While the exploration and development of natural resources brings much-needed jobs and money to rural Alaska, Native communities have growing concerns about the impacts to drinking water, fish, wildlife, and their traditional ways of life. This December, KNBA will broadcast its highly anticipated five-part news series on the proposed Pebble Mine, and go live with a website containing additional content and interviews. Communities featured in this series include Dillingham, Ekwok, Igiugig, Iliamna, Kokhanok, Newhalen and New Stuyahok. Audiences will hear from Native people whose lives and livelihoods may be significantly affected by the development of the Pebble Mine project in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region.