First Nations peoples are also excessively marginalized in the public health system, and at least 1,200 aboriginal women have been reported missing or murdered over the past 30 years PHOTO: Daniella Zalcman

Indigeneity comes at a premium today. From the hyper-local experience of taking local buses or tuk-tuks to food that is loudly ‘branded’ as authentic and traditional, the focus is on the native narrative. Today is also about the stories and people of the land – often oppressed and relegated to numbers of casualties until acknowledged, rehabilitated, and apologized to. Like the indigenous population of Canada.

Our languages are coming back. Our songs are coming back. But not everything is returning — some things have been lost forever. That’s the price of our ancestors being forced to assimilate – GRAHAM PARADIS, OJIBWE AND MÉTIS

Supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Centre on Crisis Reporting, the feature by Daniella Zalcman is telling in that she chooses to focus on the causes – over the effects – of suffering of the First Nations people. The stunning monochrome multi-exposure portraits embody the past and the wisps of a bright future, while remnants of a “cultural genocide” hang uncomfortably between the pixels. Find them here.