This Native American Photographer Is Sparking An Important Conversation About Environmental Racism

Cara Romero's otherworldly imagery examines the intersection of Indigenous tradition and environmental development.

“I’ve been an environmental activist my entire life,” says Native American photographer Cara Romero, who recalls growing up in the ’80s on the Chemehuevi reservation in the Mojave Desert of California. There she watched the strong example set by female relatives such as her grandmother, who at the time, was the chairwoman of their tribe.

“I was raised in a very pristine environment with an intact, undisturbed ecosystem and lots of flora and fauna,” Romero says. “I watched the world around us become very developed, and witnessing that level of encroachment happen within my lifetime made me want to be a protector of what we still have. As Native people, we’re really the guardians of the land and water.”

Though Romero has plenty of advocacy experience under her belt, her primary medium for affecting change is fine art photography — she’s had exhibits, over the past decade, at both the The Met and the Museum of Modern Art. Much of her otherworldly imagery examines the intersection of Indigenous tradition and environmental development in an evocative yet nuanced way that leaves a lasting impression on its viewers.

A prime example is “Evolvers,” a cinematic panorama depicting Native boys running and playing in the foreground while a wind farm looms large in the background.

“These guys are representing time travelers and spiritual beings—as though our ancestors are in the landscape experiencing all of these windmills coming in,” says Romero, who now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “On paper, this area might look like it’s devoid of so-called ‘cultural resources,’ but from this vantage point, you can see the former tide pools where the tortoise grew. You can see how the flora and fauna are affected, with the development impeding bird and mountain sheep migration.”