We recently connected with Ungelbah Davila and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ungelbah, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I’m working on an ongoing project documenting Indigenous artists and leaders through photography portraiture and written narrative. Art, culture, and life are indistinguishable in the Indigenous panorama, so while the thousands of astounding Indigenous creators in North and South America are considered artists in a Western context, they are, more importantly, culture bearers in their communities.

These photos and stories are usable tools to educate non-Indigenous populations and confront the colonial-gaze that has created false narratives designed to erase our humanity, cultural identities and overall existence. These photos and stories are a form of self-determination and just one more way to reclaim Indigenous existence for current and future generations.

Ungelbah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

After a near fatal labor at an unequipped Indian hospital, Ungelbah Dávila (Diné/Spanish/Irish, she/her) was born in the early hours of July 18 in Halona: Idiwan’a — Zuni Pueblo. She is an award wining writer and photographer who has dedicated her life to storytelling.

Growing up on an isolated cattle ranch in rural southwestern New Mexico, Ungelbah has been telling stories longer than she could read or write. While attending high school at the Santa Fe Indian School, she took up photography and film making as a natural extension of her passion for writing.

Ungelbah earned her BFA in Creative Writing at the Institute of American Indian Arts in 2011 and has worked in publication, advertising, marketing, event planning, and many other creative platforms ever since.

This Fall, her photograph of Tewa sculptors Roxanne Swentzell and Rose Simpson with Rose’s daughter Cedar, will be a a part of the exhibit “In Our Hands: Native Photography, 1890 to Now”, at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Currently, she provides creative services in the form of photography, copy writing, magazine features, website design, videography, social media management, live show sales and much, much more.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Using my talents and platform, especially in writing and photographing for magazines, allows me to being an Indigenous perspective to a primarily Western dialogue. I am frequently assigned stories on Indigenous and POC artists, businesses, and organizations where I make it a point to resist the cliches and exoticization of my subjects. To the best of my ability, I allow my subjects’ voice to be shared without Eurocentric bias and therefor do my part to chip away at over 400 years of false narratives and sensationalized imagery.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Even before she was born, I’ve been compelled to create a legacy that my daughter can be proud of, and eventually step into. One of my favorite parts of working in Native American and Indigenous spaces is the culture of child positivity. Since she was a tiny baby, and now as a toddler, my daughter has always been welcomed with open arms by my subjects and spaces I cover, and as a result, she has “aunties” all across Indian Country who know and love her. The Indigenous art community is very tight knit, and multi-generational, so getting exposed to the art world and the people within it will help give her roots and community, no matter what she decides to be.

It’s very important to me to continue creating bodies of work, and telling stories that help give my daughter and other young people exposure to the myriad of possibilities that exist on and off the reservation that do not force them to abandon their Indigenaity or compromise their unique, important and sacred place in this world.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ungelbahdavila.com
• Instagram: @udavilaphotography

Image Credits
All of these are my photos – Ungelbah Dávila (photo of shirtless man with red) – Image title “Naabahi,” featuring Walker Martin, Diné filmmaker (photo of individual in flow dress in the desert) – Geo Soctomah Neptune, Passamaquoddy master basket maker and activist (photo of woman on the rock holding a pot) – Jody Naranjo, Tewa potter (photo of pregnant woman in front of mural) Jody-Sue Kaa Folwell-Lazaro, Tewa Potter (photo of woman holding hair) – Dr. Jessa Rae Growing Thunder, Assiniboine Sioux bead and quillwork artist and academic (photo of woman with American flag) – Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna (photo of woman on the ground) Natalie Benally, Diné dancer, filmmaker and actress (photo of child) Lucia, Diné