Fond du Lac Band member Vern Northrup began photographing during his work as a Bureau of Indian Affairs wildland fire operations specialist working on Native lands across the U.S.

“When I was a firefighter,” he reflected during a conversation with me last week, “we carried everything on our backs. Real cameras were heavy, so we would buy disposable cameras to document our work and its challenges. I fought fire for 26-27 years. I managed fires, managed aircraft, engines and crews, including training. It beat you up so much, not just physically but mentally. A lot of us contracted a fo...