"It often seems as if America has only two frames through which to view its native culture: ceremony and pageantry or poverty and addiction.

“They are both opposite ends,” Adam Sings in the Timber said. “There is so much more in the middle.”

Mr. Sings in the Timber has had ample opportunity to reflect on how Indian culture is portrayed. He is a freelance multimedia and video producer for Reznet, a Native American news, information and entertainment Web site that trains and mentors college students who are preparing for journalism careers. He has also been documenting the everyday life of the Crow Tribe in southeastern Montana.

Rather than focusing on extremes, his documentary project — “Apsáalooke Nation: Living in Two Worlds” — offers a window into ordinary experience and the struggle to maintain traditional culture in the contemporary world.

Mr. Sings in the Timber comes from the Mountain branch of the Crow and, as his name makes clear, he has embraced tribal traditions. That has helped spur the project."

Get the Story:
Familial Bonds Among the Crow (The New York Times 6/18)