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A Portrait With a Powerful Message
One picture. Just one powerful image.
When Kate and her mom, Tara, reached out about creating this image, I’ll be honest—I didn’t know enough about MMIW. But I’m grateful they trusted me with something so meaningful, and I’m grateful Kate wanted to use her senior portraits to bring awareness to something that matters deeply to her family, her heritage, and her community.
MMIW stands for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. It is a crisis that continues to impact Native families across the United States, including here in Arizona and in Oklahoma, where Kate’s family has roots.
Indigenous women and girls experience violence at heartbreaking and disproportionate rates. Many cases are underreported, misclassified, overlooked, or never receive the attention they deserve. These are not just statistics. They are sisters, daughters, mothers, aunties, friends, and loved ones.
No more stolen sisters.
Meet Kate
My name is Kate. My family and I come from a proud Native American history as members of the Muscogee Creek Nation in Oklahoma, through the history of Removal.
Oklahoma is one of the states deeply impacted by the MMIW crisis. It frustrates me to see what is happening to Indigenous people who proudly represent our culture. It hurts to know that so many are ignored or discriminated against while our sisters, mothers, daughters, and aunties go missing or are murdered without the attention and justice they deserve.
We have decided to speak out.
No more stolen sisters.
Tara and Kate, thank you for bringing awareness to our community, sharing your story, and trusting me to be part of something so meaningful. This portrait is more than an image. It is a reminder to listen, to honor, and to remember.
Senior Portraits With Meaning
Senior portraits can be more than pretty pictures. They can honor your story, your heritage, your passions, and the causes that matter most to you.
If you want senior pictures that feel personal, meaningful, and true to who you are, I’d love to help you create something unforgettable. To learn more, download my free Senior Client Welcome Guide and have it sent directly to your inbox.
Keep the Ideas Coming…
Want more senior picture inspiration? Follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. I’m always sharing real senior sessions, posing ideas, favorite locations, outfit inspiration, and meaningful ways to make your senior pictures feel personal.
If you’d like to keep reading, you might enjoy these next:
→ See What a Full Senior Session Looks Like
→ Cultural Heritage Senior Portraits
→ Best Places to Take Senior Pictures in Phoenix
4 Responses
WOW! I have heard of MMIW and it hurts my heart. Thank you for sharing your powerful images and words to bring attention to MMIW.
It is a really powerful image and I’m so glad we did this together. I had done portraits of Kate when she was 14 and it’s wonderful to see her so passionate about her heritage. I learned so much from her!
I have never heard of MMIW and I am grateful for this awareness. What a beautiful, bold and brave statement, for both Tara and Kate. Your message and imagery is powerful.
Yes Andrea, I did a lot of research before we took this image to learn about their mission. Thank you for the compliment. I really hope it does bring awareness for others like it did for me.