CLINTON NORTON HOLDING
HIS ROBIN DOLL

Photographic issues loomed large, as they must for anyone who hopes to document traditional communities. Here people were related by birth or marriage, and I was definitely an outsider. Like all newcomers, I was often greeted by the question, "You ain't from around here, are you?" People were right to ask, to question my motivation. Why was I here? I asked myself. What right did I have to assume that I could represent a culture I knew little about? Was I furthering stereotypes or simply picturing the superficialities of this deeply intricate society? I was sometimes embarrassed that my photographs seemed to offer no tangible benefits in a community that seemed to value things that aided survival: firewood, bean seeds, a cut of cloth