From 1992 to 2013, Dr. David Delgado Shorter collaborated with Yoeme (Yaqui) tribal members in Sonora, Mexico. Shorter’s longterm, collaboration with Yoeme in the Hiak Vatwe (Rio Yaqui, Sonora), provided him and his collaborators opportunities for learning how to see together. Some of these views of the traditional homelands of the Yoeme (Yaqui) people are quite rare. With permission, he took hundreds of photos. Some have appeared in Anthropology News, Mexican Archaeology, anthropological and ethnobotanical books, as well as museum exhibits.

 

This exhibit showcases the range of Shorter’s visual subjects. His collection provides some of the most honest images of Yoeme life and history. From quotidian scenes to the sites of vision quests, this truncated exhibit of Shorter’s work combines visual and written representational strategies. Having spent decades in conversation with mostly elders, his photographs open up perspectives that engender the value of deep cross-cultural understanding.

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Dr. Shorter’s book, We Will Dance Our Truth: Yaqui History in Yoeme Performance, enters its third edition in early 2027.