The Desert’s Daughters

The Desert’s Daughters series was born out of the relationship between land and the human experience. As a Pueblo woman, I find comfort in the cyclical nature of life. Our experiences are mirrored in the birth, growth, and death of the natural world.

I also explored the role of suffering. The inherent nature of suffering is change. Either you will continue, a perpetually new being with each moment, or you will end and rejoin the natural circle. Change isn’t bound to ideas of morality. It’s an inevitable and neutral force that is a part of all things. Change can be inflicted in ways that cause suffering, but it will still be the force behind the healing that follows.

Life outside of humanity also experiences death and suffering. That doesn’t mean that it’s right or that there’s some kind of purpose behind it. I choose to view it as a reminder of the precious nature of life. What we have and what we experience is impermanent.

Embracing the nature of change has made it easier to be present in my human experience. Often it was difficult to appreciate the people and things that made me happy because I knew I would lose them one day. In that overwhelming feeling, I lost the recognition of my own connection to the natural cycle. In the same way that I am capable of suffering, I am capable of growth.