Allison Chenard’s photograph highlighted in National Geographic’s Semiquincentennial feature

When Allison Chenard (AB ’20) was sent on assignment to make pictures of the 350th Annual Narragansett Indian Tribal Powwow, she felt the weight of responsibility to respectfully document the ceremonies. What she did not account for was how many people would be seeing one of her pictures nearly a year later in a National Geographic feature celebrating America’s 250^th birthday.

“I am over the moon,” Chenard said of the whirlwind time since March when National Geographic first reached out to her. “This has been such a lesson in the importance of publishing work and putting it out there because you never know who is looking.”

Chenard, who graduated from Grady College with a degree in advertising and served as a Yarbrough Fellow, works as a creative lead at Tandem, a Rhode Island creative services agency. She is a graphic designer, photographer and videographer who honed her skills working for the U.S. Olympic Sailing team during the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. Last August, she was asked to fill in for a colleague and travel 40 minutes from her home base to take pictures of the ceremonial proceedings and dances of the Narragansett Indians. Her assignment was to spend about an hour at the event taking pictures that would hopefully result in 10 to 15 quality images.

Instead, she stayed eight hours and took nearly 1,700 photographs.

“I had the best day, and I even joined in a dance at the end,” Chenard, who is also a salsa dancer, said of the closing ceremonial dance where they invite the audience to participate in a Conga line-style dance. “The dance was very welcoming and inclusive.”

Capturing the Ceremony

Chenard was aware that this was no ordinary photo shoot, and she went into it with respect and caution. She was one of several photographers attending the ceremonies and they were all told there were parts of the ritual they would not be allowed to photograph. While they could photograph the ceremonial dances, the photographers were not allowed to photograph the Medicine Man and the blessing of the space, among others.

“I was very honored to be there, but I knew this was not a celebration made for people like me,” Chenard continued.

She went on to explain that she was aware this was a delicate space with tradition and special symbolism to members of the tribe, but that in order to grow in advocacy, they invite members of the public to observe and learn about their culture. She wanted to be respectful of that.

Chenard also knew since she was one of several photographers there all capturing from roughly eye level that her photos were likely going to look similar unless she did something different. She thought about their connection to the earth and wondered what the scene would look like from the ground, so she started taking pictures from a low angle looking up and quickly realized she was capturing some dramatic images.

 “The pictures just came alive. It was especially meaningful that they lit up from the earth,” Chenard said.

She was so moved by the sacred ceremony and proud of the pictures she made, that she posted her favorites on her personal Instagram account a few weeks later in October with a brief narrative of the experience.

Gaining permissions and peace

In March, several months after Chenard posted the pictures, she received a direct message on her Instagram account from someone explaining she was a photo editor at National Geographic and complimenting the pictures from the ceremony. She asked to see more pictures from the day because National Geographic was looking for pictures representing an authentic celebration for an upcoming feature. Chenard admits she wasn’t sure the message was real and quickly contacted her friend and mentor, Jen Edney, a freelance photographer who worked with the publication in the past, who confirmed the message was real.

After many emails back and forth, National Geographic selected the image they wanted to use and Chenard was tasked with getting permission from the Narragansett Indian Tribe and from Dinalyn Spears, the woman she photographed.

“I got so nervous about getting all the permissions that I drove back in the dead of winter to the site of the Powwow and sat and prayed for an hour,” Chenard said. “I trusted if it was meant to happen it would, but showing intent by being there, brought me peace.”

In the end, deadlines were met and permissions received. Chenard’s photograph covers a page and a half in a feature, “Wonders of America.” The feature celebrates superlatives across the country like the first sunrise, the oldest rodeo and Chenard’s picture of the Earliest Recorded Powwow — taking place more than 100 years before America’s birthday.

“This set of pictures is one of my proudest pieces,” Chenard concluded. “I loved that day and what I was able to create from it, and I’m honored to have had a hand in making sure our indigenous community had a place in National Geographic’s celebration piece.”

Author: Sarah E. Freeman, freemans@uga.edu