Lost in the Wilderness
In Lost in the Wilderness, Kalpesh Lathigra explores the unique culture and history-laden environment of the Pine Ridge American Indians of South Dakota, USA. The sensitive, visually lyrical series offers a quiet glimpse of lives defined by poverty and economic hardship as well as a rich heritage, community and cultural identity. By heritage an Indian himself – of the kind Columbus thought he was finding in America – Lathigra also uses the project as a means of reflecting on a personal sense of 'otherness,' considering how passive cultural influences can shape and bias our understanding of groups like the much-represented, yet little-understood American Indians.