Pine Ridge (We Are Still Here)
From The Giant: The Definitive Obey Giant Site
Year: 2011
Run Size: 450
Part of Set: none
Size: 18x24
Paper: unknown
Print Type: Screen Print
Release Date: 04/29/2011
This print is signed by both Shepard Fairey and photographer Aaron Huey; it originally retailed for $60. The first 100 prints in the run were available exclusively from Emphas.is, starting 04/29/2011. The rest of the run was sold through the Obey Giant store, starting 05/12/2011 (the original date of 05/05/2011 was pushed back in order to ensure that the prints could be dual-signed).
Please note that the print numbers listed below of #101-450 were later updated to #161-450, which means that the first 160 prints in the run were probably sold through Emphasis.is.
From Obeygiant.com:
I made this image based off one of Aaron Huey's photographs in support of this project. Proceeds go to Pine Ridge Indian Reservations. -Shepard
To hear the whole story check out Aaron's 2010 TED talk on the Lakota and their fight to get back the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Pre-order of the first 100 prints are for sale as of 4/29/11 at www.Emphas.is under Aaron's Pine Ridge Billboard Project.
- 101-450 Releasing 05/05/010 on OBEYGIANT.com
A few facts about the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation:
In 1980 the Supreme Court ruled upon the longest running court case in US History, the United States vs Sioux Nation. The court determined that the treaties with the Sioux had been violated when they were resettled onto P.O.W. camps, and 7 million acres of their land were opened up to prospectors and homesteaders. These camps are now called "reservations".
The grim statistics on Native Reservations today are the equivalent to that of a 3rd world country, revealing the legacy of colonization and treaty violations. Unemployment on the Reservation fluctuates between 80-90%. Many are homeless, and those with homes are packed into rotting buildings with up to 5 families. More than 90% of the population lives below the federal poverty line. The life expectancy for men is 47 years old – roughly the same as Afghanistan and Somalia.
Aaron's ever-evolving Pine Ridge project gives voice to social injustice and a forgotten history. It empowers the Lakota and other tribes who fight for recognition of the past in order to help give them a chance to move forward.
The sales of this print will go directly to pay for a campaign to educate the American public about the issues that face not only the Lakota, but every indigenous tribe in the US. Your involvement will help raise the visibility of these images by paying for advertising that will take the story straight to the public—to the sides of buses, subway tunnels, and billboards, ultimately benefiting grassroots non-profits working on Reservations across the US. Help remind the world that the Lakota and other Native people are still here and demand to be heard. With your help the message will be so loud that it cannot be ignored.
To see Aaron's extensive, and ongoing, photo essay from Pine Ridge go to: www.aaronhuey.com. Other collaborative prints for this campaign were made by Ernesto Yerena and Aaron Huey and are also available at www.Emphas.is until 5/5/11.
Related Prints:
Related Fine Art Pieces: We Are Still Here Rubylith