About Samantha
Samantha Harrison was raised in both Juneau and Fairbanks, Alaska. She is an enrolled member of the Native Village of Kotzebue and a NANA shareholder. She began her career working in the Intensive Care Unit as a Registered Nurse for Indian Health Services. Samantha has interned with Native Movement, been an emerging leader for the Inuit Circumpolar Council, and is a producer for a social justice documentary in collaboration with Sundance. Recently, she became a new mother and named her son after her younger brother, Cody Eyre. Cody Eyre died from an officer-related shooting in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2017. He was shot at over 40 times. This loss was a transformational experience, and she is committed to using her grief to create change.
From the Artist
" I am so fortunate to be given the support necessary to make my dream of creating a visual photo essay a reality. This opportunity has been life-changing, and I am grateful to NDN Collective and my community for helping me do this work. My art centers around celebrating and humanizing Indigenous lives lost to officer-related violence and excessive force.
I am passionate about ending unnecessary police violence and deaths. I recognize that to care about injustices, we have to be aware that they are happening and know who they are happening to. Therefore, I am deeply invested in sharing stories through photos to create a more just future for Indigenous people. This project is both meaningful and healing for me, and I hope it will also benefit the families that participate as well.”
-Samantha Harrison
