Mandatory Reading List
Title: Reframing the Narrative: How a New Mexico Museum Challenges Colonial Imagery of the Navajo Nation
In an innovative and necessary act of historical reclamation, the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has launched an exhibition that critically reinterprets photographs of the Navajo Nation taken by non-Native photographer Milton Snow between 1937 and 1957. Titled “Nothing Left for Me,” the exhibition radically shifts the lens through which these archival images are viewed — reframing them not as evidence of “progress” but as complex artifacts of colonial policy and cultural disruption.
Understanding the Context: Milton Snow’s Photographic Legacy
Milton Snow worked under contract with the federal Navajo Service, an agency deeply involved in U.S. government efforts to assimilate Indigenous peoples into Euro-American modes of living. Snow’s professional background included stints with prominent institutions like the Los Angeles Museum and the Museum of Northern Arizona. His mission was to use photography to illustrate the “modernization” and “development” of Navajo lands and people under federal oversight.
His photos showcased elements that aligned with Anglo-American values — educational institutions, nuclear families, and agricultural projects framed as advancements. However, this narrative of progress carefully excluded the darker realities of U.S. colonization, such as displacement, trauma, and environmental devastation wrought upon the Diné (Navajo) people.
The Forgotten Toll: Livestock Massacres and Cultural Erosion
At the heart of the critique that the exhibition mounts is the way in which Snow’s images served propagandistic purposes. One of the most heartbreaking consequences of policy during this era was the government-mandated killing of Diné livestock. Under the guise of environmental conservation, thousands of sheep — revered not only for their economic but deep cultural value — were slaughtered. This “stock reduction” program devastated the Diné way of life, threatening their food security and disrupting land-based cultural practices.
In this new framing, photographs once lauded as signs of progress are now read as evidence of erasure. Diné curators and elders involved in the exhibition point out how the U.S. Indian Commission weaponized narratives of conservation to strip Navajo communities of their autonomy and sustenance.
A New Voice: Diné Oral Histories Reclaim the Frame
One of the most powerful aspects of “Nothing Left for Me” is the inclusion of oral histories and first-person narratives from Diné elders. These voices retell the stories behind the photographs in ways that directly contrast with the official records.
For example, a photograph of a schoolhouse — once portrayed by Snow as a symbol of opportunity — is recontextualized through personal accounts that describe it as a site of deep trauma. Native American boarding schools, mandated by assimilationist government policy, forced children to unlearn their languages, traditions, and gender identities. Instead of family cohesion, the schools taught ideologies of individualism, monogamy, and binary gender roles — deeply alien to traditional Diné values.
The addition of these firsthand stories not only deepens the historical record but actively resists the ongoing legacy of colonial storytelling. The exhibition, by including community input and reframed captions, serves as an act of Indigenous self-representation in a space long dominated by non-Native perspectives.
Unsettling the Archive: Why This Matters Today
The events and policies of the 20th century have had long-lasting impacts on the cultural and political sovereignty of Indigenous nations in the United States. Snow’s photographs, as government-sanctioned documentation, played a part in shaping policy and public perception about Navajo “progress” — often to the detriment of the actual communities pictured.
By reopening the archive and sharing truth through Indigenous voices, the Maxwell Museum’s exhibition challenges visitors to reconsider the assumptions they may have about the history and current realities of Native peoples. It highlights how visual media has been — and still can be — used to manipulate narratives, making the act of critical viewing and community-engaged curating all the more essential.
Final Thoughts: Toward Truth and Representation
“Nothing Left for Me” is much more than a gallery show — it’s a participatory act of cultural reckoning and reclamation. In retelling the story behind the lens, the Diné elders and curators involved with the exhibition push back against decades of misrepresentation and silence. It is a model for what ethical museum practice and decolonial curation can look like.
At a time when museums across the nation are grappling with their colonial legacies, this initiative stands out as a testimony to resilience and the power of storytelling. In the words of one Diné elder featured in the exhibit: “We are not relics; we are living histories.”
For more on this groundbreaking exhibition, visit the official coverage by Southwest Contemporary.