Nolan Altvater

TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Passamaquoddy

PANEL: Native Photography as Self-Determination

BIOGRAPHY
Nolan Altvater (they/them) is a Passamaquoddy visual artist from Sipayik. Working with film, photography, and mixed media as an interdisciplinary studies Ph.D student, their work explores the intersections between visual culture and the (re)production of place, identity, and history within Passamaquoddy ways of knowing and being. They currently have work displayed as part of the Mαwte: Bound Together exhibit at the Paul J. Schupf Art Center and in the permanent archives for the Maine Historical Society.

Maya Attean

TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Penobscot

PANEL: Native Photography as Self-Determination

MEDIUM: Photography

BIOGRAPHY
Maya Tihtiyas Attean (b. 1994) is a Wabanaki (Penobscot & Passamaquoddy) artist living in Abenaki territory in Maine, raised on the Penobscot Reservation. Her work reflects her ancestry, resilience, and connection to the natural world. Through exploring the duality she embodies within the colonized world she exists within, she marries mediums and techniques of multiple cultures to create new realities and possibilities within her work. Maya earned her BFA within Photography from Maine College of Art & Design in 2023. Her work has been shown at the Portland Museum of Art, the Abbe Museum, the ICA at MECA&D, SPACE Gallery, and more. She has received the BIPOC studio award from SPACE Gallery in 2024, the Visionary Award from the Film Photo Award in 2025, and is a Kindling fund 2026 grantee. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Portland Museum of Art and the Abbe Museum.

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Jeremy Dennis

TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Shinnecock Indian Nation

PANEL: Native Photography as Self-Determination

BIOGRAPHY
Jeremy Dennis (b. 1990) is a contemporary fine art photographer, an enrolled Tribal Member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation in Southampton, NY, and lead artist and founder of the non-profit Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio, Inc. on the Shinnecock Reservation. In his work, he explores Indigenous identity, culture, and assimilation.

Dennis was one of 10 recipients of a 2016 Dreamstarter Grant from the national non-profit organization Running Strong for American Indian Youth. He was awarded $10,000 to pursue his project, On This Site, which uses photography and an interactive online map to showcase culturally significant Native American sites on Long Island, a topic of special meaning for Dennis, who was raised on the Shinnecock Nation Reservation.

Jeremy Dennis holds an MFA from Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, and a BA in Studio Art from Stony Brook University, NY.

He lives and works in Southampton, New York, on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation.