From Regalia to the StreetAuburn, NY (March 16, 2026) – In August 2016, Syracuse artist – and at the time a correspondent for Indian Country Today – Alex Johns-Hamer was at the Standing Rock protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline, drinking in the scene and making photographs. It was an experience that would change his life.

“The night of the August full moon at Red Warrior Camp, different people sang,” Johns-Hamer recalled, describing a circle of people gathered in front of a traditional tipi. “A young woman from Tuscarora sang traditional songs with a hand drum; Nataanii Means performed a hip-hop song of his. People spoke in a good way. There was guarded optimism and smiles.”

The peaceful scene didn’t last. On Sept. 3, 2016, the company building the pipeline used bulldozers to dig up part of the pipeline route that Standing Rock Sioux considered culturally significant and had filed the day before for an injunction to block the work.

When protesters crossed the perimeter fence onto private property to stop the bulldozers, security forces confronted them with pepper spray and guard dogs, according to an Associated Press article. At least six protesters were treated for dog bites, and an estimated 30 were pepper-sprayed before the guards and their dogs left.

A Sept. 5, 2016, image in Johns-Hamer’s exhibition at the Schweinfurth Art Center, “From Regalia to the Street,” tries to recapture the calm he saw that August night. The image shows a tipi at dusk, lit from within, the sky filled with stars, and the Milky Way seemingly flowing out the open top of the tipi. There are no people in the photograph.

Johns-Hamer is the son of Martha Johns, who is Onyota (Oneida), The People of the Standing Stone. “My family’s contributions are shared in the culture center on the Oneida Indian Nation territory in Oneida, NY,” he said. “It's called Shako:wi and is open for the public to visit and learn more about Oneida history and culture.”

He was working as a correspondent and photojournalist for Indian Country Today when he decided to travel to Standing Rock. “We didn't know what to really expect when a few of us left Onondaga Nation with three canoes strapped to the top of an SUV and made the 1,500-mile drive to Standing Rock in North Dakota,” he said.

“Standing Rock changed my life in ways I could have never imagined,” Johns-Hamer said. “It led to covering federal court cases regarding the event, and I eventually earned a White House Press Pass to cover the 2016 White House Tribal Nations Conference. Later I would go on to be the keynote speaker at the Treaty of Canandaigua Commemoration that year, then recently speaking on a panel at Colgate University. Things I could never have dreamed growing up.” 

In the 10 years since, Johns-Hamer has turned an interest sparked by his grandmother’s penchant for taking drives and stopping to take photographs into a career. His exhibition includes photographs of important Native events – the 2023 commemoration of the Canandaigua Treaty – and street photography – BMX legend Dave Mirra training for a triathlon in Chittenango.

He has worked for Zuma Press news wire and is the event photographer for Ganondagan State Historic Site in Victor, NY. His work has been licensed in Germany, Spain, France and the United Kingdom. Photographs have been shown at the Fort Pitt Museum, the Fenimore Art Museum, and the Smithsonian Museum of American Indian.

Many of the images in his Schweinfurth exhibition feature Native people dancing, participating in marches, even giving a commencement address. “My goal for the exhibit is to show some of the diverse lives and accomplishments of people in the Native community,” he said. “I’m grateful for anyone who can take some of their important time to come out and see some of the amazing people and events I was fortunate to photograph and write about over the last ten years.”

If you go …

WHAT: “From Regalia to the Street: Photography by Alex Johns-Hamer”

WHEN: March 28 to May 16, 2026

WHERE: Schweinfurth Art Center, 205 Genesee St., Auburn

OPENING RECEPTION: 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 28, 2026

ALSO OPENING: “Made in NY 2026” in the main gallery and “Untamed” by Carla Stetson in the Schweinfurth’s Gallery Julius and the Cayuga Museum of History & Art

OTHER EVENTS: Johns-Hamer will give a workshop of photography 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 9, followed by an Artist’s Talk at 3 p.m.

HOURS: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays

ADMISSION: $10 per person, members, participating artists, active military, and children 12 and under are free; $15 for joint admission to Schweinfurth and Cayuga Museum

About the Schweinfurth

The Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center is a multi-arts center that opened in 1981 thanks to a bequest from Auburn-born architect Julius Schweinfurth. The art center's programs include more than a dozen exhibitions each year and educational programs for children and adults, which feature local, national, and international artists. For more information, link to schweinfurthartcenter.org.

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