By Elin Spring
Who is American? At the Griffin Museum of Photography (Winchester, MA), the group exhibit “Manifest Destiny” reflects on the 19th-century concept that “Americans” were ordained by God to undertake western territorial expansion for the nation’s economic and political gain. In the heady activity that followed, peoples who already inhabited these lands were displaced, or worse. But many have survived and persevered. Their proud persistence is documented in two solo shows: Austin Bryant’s “Where They Still Remain” in the Atelier Gallery and John Willis’ series “View from the Reservation” and “Mni Wiconi” in the Griffin Gallery. On view through March 15th, 2026, there will be an online Artist Talk with both photographers on Thursday, February 26th from 6:30 – 8:30pm (EDT).
“Where He Was Hidden” from the series Where They Still Remain by Austin Bryant, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
It is believed that the Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard has been home to the Wampanoag people for ten thousand years. From the 1600’s, African Americans were brought to the island as enslaved laborers but evolved into a free, tight-knit, and thriving community with empathy and assistance from the Wampanoag population. Through time, these two communities have remained close and supportive against a backdrop of the island’s surge in popularity and accompanying land development.
“Remains of a 19th-century African-American tabernacle” 2022, from the series Where They Still Remain by Austin Bryant, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Menemsha II” 2021, from the series Where They Still Remain by Austin Bryant, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
In color images both serene and unsettling, Austin Bryant finds vestiges of the shared, marginalized past of the Wampanoag and African-American communities in his series “Where They Still Remain.” A halcyon summer landscape of Menemsha cottages point to a cloud smudged expanse of the ocean that brought the island’s first settlers. In contrast, the bramble-engulfed home “Where He Was Hidden,” stone steps in the lush enclave marking “Remains of a 19th-century African-American tabernacle,” and a defiant, tumbling “Chimney” all hint more directly at a dispossessed past. While the symbolism in Bryant’s images allude to traumatic displacement, their contemplative tone is a potent, reverent testimony to “Where They Still Remain.”
“Chimney” 2022, from the series Where They Still Remain by Austin Bryant, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
Feature Image: “Sunka Wakan Na Wakanjeja Awicaglipi (To Bring Back The Horse And Child)” from the series View from the Reservation by John Willis, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
The concept of “Manifest Destiny” has been used to justify the forced removal of Native populations from their lands. John Willis reviles this idea and has championed Native American rights to sovereignty through decades of photographic projects with the Lakota. In his series “View from the Reservation,” Willis pictures daily life, from a bounding, glorious horseback ride through the plains to an aging Vern Sleeping Bear at the gas station with his beat-up car and niece’s pet wolf. With palpable deference, his images fortify respect for cultural tradition, and his use of B&W film imbues them with a sense of timelessness.
“Vern Sleeping Bear & His Niece’s Pet Wolf” from the series View from the Reservation by John Willis, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Grandmother Mary Lyons, Leading the Women’s Daily Prayer Ceremony” from the series Mni Wiconi by by John Willis, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
In his series Mni Wiconi: Honoring the Water Protectors, Willis uses color and dynamic angles to document prayerful and peaceful efforts by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and their allies to resist the Dakota Access Pipeline from running through their sacred lands and threatening their sole source of water. Embedded with a resistance movement that included participants from over 300 Indian nations, Willis gained an unusual insider perspective that he used to project an empathic narrative. His vibrant portraits tell a poignant story of the desperate, hopeful aspirations of a native people trying to preserve their right to ancestral land and memories.
“Running From Tear Gas, Backwater Bridge” from the series Mni Wiconi by by John Willis, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
Willis’ exhibit is embellished by Dwayne Wilcox’s delightfully devious drawings, Joe Pulliam’s poignant collage, a vitrine of colorful ephemera, and the scents of prairie grasses and herbs.
For more information about this exhibit and accompanying online Artist Talk, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/current-exhibitions/
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