Photo Collaboration University Without Walls Students x Olivia Mikolai Ridge
Marshall Stewart x Olivia Ridge
Correspondence
Marshall Stewart x Olivia Ridge
Correspondence
Today We Dance With and For Them, 2022, Marshall Stewart and Olivia Ridge
First Correspondence Q & A
02/02/22 & 02/24/22
MS: I’d like to be seen as a servant of Jesus Christ who is Native American. I would like the image to reflect and magnify my heritage spiritually (as Christ’s) and physically (as Native American and Mexican). What is usually not known about me is that I was adopted by my Mexican-American family at infancy; thus I speak, read, write, preach, and sing in Spanish.
OR: Describe the best photograph of yourself. This photograph can be imagined or real.
MS: My last family photo in 2005 is one I covet for a few reasons: it includes all of my children, my huge Galaviz adoptive family, and me holding my child. I am a doting Dad, and now even with my adult children I still dote.
OR: Is there a real or historical place you would like to be photographed? Imagine you can be photographed in any place or setting that holds meaning for you. What would you change your photo ID background to, if it could be anything? A background can be a place, a color, a design, or entirely fictional. How does this setting relate to how you want to be seen?
MS: I’d pray to dance in a Powwow with my children. This holds meaning for me because I am a registered member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Chippewa Indians, and I have yet to dance with my now-adult children.
OR: What is your relationship to your State ID photo (like it, hate it)? Would you change or edit your State ID photo if you could? If so, what would you do?
MS: My relationship to my State ID is dissonance because it reflects pain and scars associated with my arrest, torture, and hospitalization while in CPD custody. As IDOC mandates a “no smile” policy for photos, I often wonder what my smile looks like now. Also, I’d like to change my hairstyle because we rarely have access to a barber.
03/08/22
Hi Marshall,
Thanks for your thoughtful response. I had to track down photos from graduation to see your smile – Jason shared a folder from the graduation ceremony with me. There are some great pictures in there! I attached them to this letter. I see one big toothy smile and another where your smile is more subtle, but you look happy. Do you have copies of these photos? How do you feel about them?
I am compelled by the way you describe yourself as a father through the simple action of you holding a child. In thinking of ways to make an image that is meaningful and representative of you, I wonder if there are elements of the image you describe of dancing with your children at a Powwow that I could take for you on the outside. I think a lot about what photography can and cannot do. What I hope to offer through this project is a photograph that is made for you, one that you actually want. One of the difficulties of this project is not being able to take a photograph of you. Knowing that any recreation of this image cannot satisfy the real, I’d like to know more about the image you describe.
In your next letter, I’d love to hear more about each of your children, your relationship to where they are now, and how you envision them in a photograph. Which of your children is most like you? Do your children go to Powwows? Where are they held? I’ve heard that some sacred ceremonies are not meant to be photographed. Are there other locations that would be meaningful to your heritage? I wonder about the value of photography here – if it would bring satisfaction or disappointment to recreate parts of the image you describe.
Looking forward to your response,
Olivia
UWW Graduation Ceremony 2019
Photos courtesy Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project
Thank you for researching NEIU graduation photos. I do have copies. I think they are ok, not as good as the photos with Lauren Daigle when my choir at Stateville performed with her. My favorite NEIU photo is one with my two advisors, Bret Stockdill and Megan Bang, because I felt most cared for and comfortable in their presence. Now that photo elicits joy.
As for Powwow photos – I have many, but my favorite is an outdoor photo of my daughter and grandson dancing. I can email this to you or enclose it…whichever you choose. My daughter, Victoria Stewart, currently has a Bear Clan Creations Etsy store and is working on a mural inside the American Indian Center (AIC). I am a doting Dad to all of my tomato-heads but am connected/communicate more with her and my adult son Spencer. They both live in Albany Park. My youngest, Manny, lives in Park Ridge and is a bit absent, as most 20-year-olds are from their parents. My sons Spencer and Manny are like me because they are stoic and overly logical, but my daughter has more of my emotional side.
As for locations that are meaningful to me, the Field Museum has meaning because of their First Nations display. Currently my step-father, Joseph Tecumseh, is featured there speaking Potawatomi on a digital display. Other than that, the American Indian Center means a lot to me. These locations give me joy. I’ve not seen them in seventeen years. So anything like this contributes to my happiness now.
One thing I’d like to add: most Native Americans have rights (N.A.R.R.) to their eagle feather, medicine bag, and access to sweat lodges while in prison; Illinois, however, fails to honor this. A photo of an eagle feather hanging from my left collar would be awesome.
MS
03/24/22
Hi Marshall,
It was fun to hear about your kids (your “tomato-heads”) in your last letter. Thanks for sharing so much with me. I’m grateful to your mom for sending over photos from the Powwow. I’ve attached them below so you can see what was sent over.
The locations you mention are rea