Decolonizing Care Exhibition
“I wish I could turn the clock back to B.D., or “before drugs.” Before the opioid epidemic spread through our tribe like wildfire. Before my husband became addicted. Then two of my sons. Then my grandchild.”
Judith Surber, a mother, Hoopa Valley tribal member, and now manager of a medical assisted treatment program, writes of her experience with the opioid epidemic on the reservation. Justin Maxon photographs snapshots of Surber’s life while centering her voice throughout.
“When I think about my sons, Roger and Cory, I picture them as I do all my children, as precious babies. When I look at my sons, I see all that I’ve known them to be and all of what could have been or could still be if it weren’t for OxyContin, then heroin, and now fentanyl.”
Surber gives a firsthand perspective of a mother fighting to keep her family together, while Maxon’s photographs are candid but compassionate. Together, their written and visual storytelling weave a personal narrative of struggle, fear, and pain, but most of all, unconditional love.
This photography exhibition was adapted from the story, "Addiction Ravaged My Family and Tribe. I’m Fighting to Get Them Back" which was originally edited by Jacqueline Bates and published in The New York Times.
Alongside the physical exhibit is a digital version containing additional multimedia story content. Access more of the story by scanning the QR codes with your phone camera.
Story by Judith Surber. Photography by Justin Maxon. Exhibit copy editing by Daniel Vasta and Grace Jensen. Digital exhibit web page by Grace Jensen. Exhibit production, curation, and design by Daniel Vasta. Multimedia assets created by Justin Maxon, sourced from the Surber family archive, and edited by Daniel Vasta.
