And, some days photography even loves me. I took this picture at Nespelem, Washington, in the Nez Perce Cemetery on the Colville Indian Reservation. The tree is an ancient elm that arches over Chief Joseph’s grave. People have left many gifts hanging in that tree. Notice that the cross is accompanied by a coach’s or referee’s whistle, as well as the military headstones in the background, all symbols of things important to reservation culture: Christian missions, high school sports and the warrior archetype.
I took the picture on one of my semi-annual trips to visit the graves of Joseph and Yellow Wolf, who I learned about while researching Side Trips From Cowboy.
The ancient elm at Joseph’s grave in Nespelem. (Photography was very, very good to me that day.)
If you love photography as well, maybe you would like to go to Nespelem with me one day. There are many interesting things along the way.