SHIMÁ SÁNÍ
Grandmother
You fed, protected and raised me.
I miss your wisdom, smile and feeling your well worn hands that comforted me.
Your morning prayers still sound beautiful though you now roam the world of Great Spirits.
Through your teachings of listening, I learned our language.
A treasure which I cherish each day as I meet those that resemble you.
You never waived from the path to show me even some of the old ways.
You raised the utmost brave women who is my mother.
Grandma, you created a warrior whom I call shimá.
She gave birth to me and my two beautiful sisters.
She was a single mother and had your strength, power, faith, courage and bravery.
How she did it all for us remains a mystery.
For reasons only the Creator knows, I have no brothers, only sisters.
Grandmother... my mother and sisters remind me of you.
You are the matriarch of our family and I now raise my daughter.
She is the future.
For you, my grandmother, I raise her.
I desire her to be like you.
She is part you.
Now more than ever grandma, I try to help women like you.
Fragile, beautiful and forever our matriarchs.
Though not mine, for a small moment I call them
SHIMÁ SÁNI
Shimá sáni is a documentary project to capture the spirit of the old ways that are well alive in our grandmothers.
Through my humanitarian efforts to bring water and solar power to our elders, I pass the time with them and simply listen. This photography project of shimá sání (grandma) is designed to cement their stories through imagery and preserve the text or spoken word for the families they are matriarchs of.
All of my grandparents have entered the World of Great Spirits and I never photographed them. Though I visually recall my childhood with my grandmothers, I wish I had photographed them.
For now, I help our elders in need and converse with them in our mother language, diné bizaad, about the old ways and their memories so the generations who may never meet them can see and know a little about who they call SHIMÁ SÁNÍ.
If you would like me to photograph your grandmother using some of the worlds greatest camera systems and editing software, please reach me at mylo@fourthworldimages.com
It would be my absolute honor to photograph your grandma in a safe environment.
Ahéhee',
Mylo Fowler
