PABLO — A nonprofit on the Flathead Reservation is celebrating 20 years of helping students tell their stories through a lens.
Art, Vision and Outreach in Community — known as "A Voice" — was founded by David Spear, who has spent two decades visiting schools like Two Eagle River School and giving cameras to students. The program is funded by donors and grants.
"Photography is such a powerful metaphor visually in describing what the world is about," Spear said.
The mission centers on building confidence through visual arts.
Students including Elijah Seaton, Josey Trahan-Usher and Damian Lamoose have participated in the program.
"You see something and you want to capture it, and that's something you want to share with people," Seaton said.
"After working with David in summer school, I really liked photography," Trahan-Usher said.
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Their work is now displayed in a gallery called "Four From Two" at Salish Kootenai College in Pablo.
"I like to see something in the environment that some people don't normally see," Lamoose said.
"I definitely found myself in a sense. It's made me look closer to details in nature," Trahan-Usher said.
The program's impact reaches far beyond the reservation.
Student work has been displayed in New York, museums and photo festivals.
But these young photographers are also documenting their community's history one click at a time.
"Twenty years in the community and we have this archive of images from young people in this community," Spear said.
A Voice says it hopes to continue its work and raise funds to support the next generation of student photographers.
