I remember growing up, sitting with my dad on quiet evenings while he watched classic Westerns. I loved the vast landscapes, the brave cowboys, and the frontier adventures. But even as a child, something about how Native Americans were portrayed felt wrong—they were often shown as villains or silent figures, rarely the heroes of their own stories.

Just before the pandemic in early 2020, I visited the U.S. and unexpectedly found myself in Round Valley. The land and the people drew me in, though looking back, I realize I didn’t fully understand the place at the time. I left unsure if I’d return. Years later, watching Killers of the Flower Moon stirred something in me. I reached out. I came back.

Round Valley, where this project is rooted, holds a painful and complex history. In 1856, it became the Nome Cult Reservation (later renamed Round Valley Indian Reservation), one of California’s oldest and largest. Thirteen different tribes were forcibly relocated here from across the state, many enduring a brutal journey known as California’s Trail of Tears. Tribes with distinct languages, beliefs, and ways of life were forced to coexist in a confined, often hostile space.

What followed was a long history of massacres, stolen land, boarding schools, and systemic efforts to erase Native culture—a pattern repeated across the U.S. But history isn’t just the past. It lives in memory, in trauma, and in the names of those still missing due to violence against Native people and those who uphold ancestral traditions.

This work amplifies voices deeply connected to their land and heritage—people who’ve witnessed changes so profound their ancestral places are barely recognizable. It’s about songs still sung, sacred lands walked again, and young people relearning dances once banned. It’s a story of endurance, of reclaiming lineages nearly lost but never forgotten.

About the Artist
Cosimo Campagna is a documentary photographer born in southern Italy and now based in southwest England. He moved to the UK at 21 to pursue photography, graduating with first-class honors from the University of Plymouth in 2024.

His work explores people and place, blending storytelling with intimate portraiture. Inspired by the sea, travel, and human connection, his images delve into identity, memory, and resilience—often shaped by the emotional depth of landscapes.

Working in both digital and film, he favors medium-format for its depth and tone. Known for his use of natural light, Cosimo creates visually rich, emotionally resonant images in black-and-white and color.