Ruth Lewis-Diné Elder, from the series Dahodiyinii (Sacred Places)

Dakota Mace is a multidisciplinary Diné (Navajo) artist from Albuquerque. For Dahodiyinii (Sacred Places), she “asked each person I interviewed to select a memory, object, or landscape which has become a place of healing—a Sacred Place.” Fred Lewis, who recalled Ruth, his wife of 59 years, chose a juniper tree. Mace writes, “She often looked out the window at this tree... The cyanotype was made from the earth near that exact location.” Mace notes the importance of this cochineal (vibrant red) hue to Diné people: “It is a color used… to protect those who are traveling. While on the Long Walk, many Diné would seek shelter under juniper trees, like the one pictured here, and share stories beneath them. These stories were often prayers offered to lives lost.”