Photos by carltonward | My friend Morgan Yates asked me to take her high school graduation photos. We captured the requisite cap-and-gown shots in her driveway, then jumped in a pickup truck with her dad, Bobby, and mother, Louvella. We drove to Morgan's favorite cypress swamp, where she modeled a Seminole dress that she and her mother made. Morgan is proud of her Native American heritage through the Panther clan of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. November is Native American Heritage Month. I'm thankful to Native peoples across the Americas who have fought to keep their heritage alive against overwhelming oppression that too often continues today. Their vibrant cultures, born from this land, were all but annihilated by colonial conquests and disease. For the few perseverant lineages that have survived centuries of suffering, I hope they'll keep raising their voices and that more people will hear and magnify their message. I believe the future of humanity on our planet depends upon it...