Editorial Team and Acknowledgments

Annie Coombs and Zoë Malliaros are New York City–based architects. They have been traveling to the Cheyenne River Reservation for over 20 years, first as volunteers with the Sioux YMCA, and later for personal, academic, and professional visits. In 2010, they were recipients of a fellowship from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP) which resulted in Post-Reservation, a project that visualized housing, infrastructure, and the economy on the Lakota Sioux reservations. They both currently serve on the board of trustees for the Sioux YMCA.

Separate from their collaborations, Annie Coombs runs Siris Coombs Architecture, a practice that includes residential, cultural, and social impact projects. From 2016 to 2019, she served on the board of directors for Simply Smiles, a non-profit organization that provides housing and youth programs on Cheyenne River. Coombs has a master’s of architecture from Columbia University’s GSAPP and a bachelor’s degree in women’s studies from Wesleyan University.

Zoë Malliaros has worked professionally in both residential architectural design and non-profit consulting as an owner’s representative for New York City nonprofit youth-focused organizations. She is a longtime member of the advisory council of ArtBridge, an NYC-based non-profit that empowers emerging artists to transform urban spaces. Malliaros has a master’s of architecture from Columbia University’s GSAPP and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Harvard University.

Dawnee LeBeau, an independent visual storyteller, is Itazipacola Oohenunpa of the Tetonwan Oyate. She was born and raised on the Cheyenne River Reservation. LeBeau is inspired by portrait, landscape, and documentary photography. She currently resides on the Cheyenne River Reservation with her two beautiful wakanyeja [children], gardening and promoting wellness, Lakota language, and Lakota cultural values. 

Jessie Story is a Lakota mother, veteran, and photographer based in South Dakota. She has exhibited her work across the country and internationally. She assisted photographers in Danube Revisited: the Inge Morath Truck Project, a photographic road trip and traveling exhibition along the Danube River in central and Eastern Europe. Story currently lives on the Cheyenne River Reservation with her husband and young child. The photographs she contributed to this report were taken in and around Dupree, South Dakota. 

Misha Friedman is a photographer based in New York City. He was born in Moldova in 1977 and holds degrees from Binghamton University and London School of Economics. Since 2010, he has worked as a photographer. Friedman regularly collaborates with leading international media and nonprofit organizations. His widely exhibited work has received numerous industry awards, including multiple grants from the Pulitzer Center.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to all of our contributors, as well as the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and United States Geological Survey Library for research support.