Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project

Logan Humphrey

lh129720@ohio.edu 

Via Tapahe Photograpy

During the 2022 Schuneman Symposium, presented by the E.W Scripps School of Journalism, freelance photojournalist Eugene Tapahe and journalist Erin Tapahe spoke about their empowering project, "Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project." As Native Americans, they use their platform to empower their native heritage and prove that they are more than the usual stereotypes. 

A dream inspired their project that Eugene had, where he was at Yellowstone National Park where a few bison had been grazing, and women with jingle dresses were dancing. The dream felt so healing to him, and it inspired him to create this project to allow others to feel what he felt. So he started photographing four younger Native American women, two of which are his daughters. They wore Ojibwe jingle dresses with several metal cones that would make a sound when performing a ritual dance. 

Starting, they visited the spiritual lands that their ancestors once inhabited to bring unity and hope to people across the world. Then, they traveled to several national and state parks for their project and several major cities, bringing attention and sharing hope and positivity everywhere they went. 

When several social issues are being placed at the forefront, their project is more critical now than ever. The two mentioned that their project took off because of the many social differences in the world. Through their project, they embrace female empowerment, their Native American heritage, and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement. Overall, it was a significant learning experience for all who worked with the project and a very touching and emotional one. 

Erin helped bring this project to TikTok, where some videos got thousands of views, while one video got up to almost a million views. Creating videos on this platform allows their project to be spread further, reaching younger and more impressionable audiences. 

Eugene gave a metaphor for his project, saying, "One jingle doesn't make a sound but together they have the power to heal," comparing his project to the importance of working with others for healing. The two were unsure why they were speaking at the symposium, feeling as if their story was not as important. Still, in reality, their story was essential to be shared, especially with young and inspiring journalists. Through art, dance, and culture, they help heal others in the purest forms available, making them genuinely inspiring journalists with a beautiful story.  

A Beautiful Yet Necessary Documentary: "Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project"

Image Source: West Seattle Blog

Racism is defined as "prejudiced against or antagonistic toward a person or people based on their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized." It is a reprehensible yet actual fact that the United States is racist. Not just toward people of color, but anybody and everybody who is not a white, straight male. Among more than I can count on my two hands, this racism found in the United States includes the indigenous peoples. 

Just today, I got the privilege of being able to sit in on a presentation by Eugene and his daughter Erin Tapas. The Tapas is a part of the Navajo tribe of America. Last year, they and three other women traveled around the country, visiting places where their ancestors walked to spread hope, healing, and awareness. They did this through dancing and pictures and called their objective the Jingle Dress Project. Jingle dresses are essential to the Native people and symbolize healing within their tradition(s). By bringing these dresses and the dances that accompanied them across the country, constantly to state/national parks, they spread this healing across the land, uplifting the communities they visited. However, they did not just do this to spread healing and hope; they also did this to spread awareness about the world's missing and murdered indigenous women. Eugene Tapahe has worked for a few news stations/newspapers and has a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. They followed along with the dancers, taking pictures of them to help spread this awareness even further.

I listened to these two phenomenal people speak as they presented their pictures, explained the meaning, and emphasized their reasoning. They then played the documentary that was done for their project by PBS. If you have the time, I would highly recommend watching it. Before attending this presentation, I knew that racism was rampant in the United States. I just did not know just how detrimental it was. The United States needs to change, and it needs to change fast. People are people, no matter how they look, speak, act, or what they believe in. The Tapahe's left the audience with a message that I have often told myself and others when the situation requires, and it was: treat other people how you would wish to be treated. 

I couldn't agree more.