Diné photographer Ryle Yazzie is releasing his first book titled “Native Genes” that explores authenticity and Americana through self-portraits and risographs. KUNM spoke with Yazzie who said this project stemmed from his time working as a photo assistant in Santa Fe.
RYLE YAZZIE: I would go to these high end-stores, and I went to this vintage jean store, and I could see the prices, and I always thought to myself, like, ‘Why? Why are these jeans so expensive?” And so I did a little investigating. And I started to realize that it was sort of the bill quality. There were some like natural patina and wear in it, you can see the history of the jeans, like who previously owned them. And then that got me thinking about my history, like dealing with colonization, forced relocation, genocide. And I was like, ‘well, you know, Natives wear jeans too, why not, kind of promote that history. So you know that dealing with all of those adversities and still being here in the present time, in modern times.
KUNM: So where did you find all these pairs of jeans for your project?
YAZZIE: I just started going to flea markets. I went to the Window Rock, Yá’át’ééh Gallup, flea markets, I went to Shiprock flea market. My plan was to hit all of them. Then I started collecting jeans. And in that process, I started, like, doing interviews from people. I was buying them, and, you know, their backstory was really interesting. There was a lot of rich audio that came from that and and then from there, I just kind of just started exploring this idea. I wanted it to be similar to those jean stores that I see in Santa Fe and so I wanted to make a pop-up to theoretically sell these jeans. But then I thought, stores have catalogs? So I started thinking of a catalog, how to put it together.
KUNM: What were some of the stories that stuck out to you?
YAZZIE: One was a mom that was selling her son's jeans. I bought a lot of hers. And when I picked them up, there were these black jeans, but they had white paint splatters all over them. And I thought, well, I was like, ‘Oh, this was interesting.” So I asked her what that was and why she was selling them? And she told me that her son had to move away, sort of from the rez to get work. And he was working, I think in the Phoenix area. But they would always talk on the phone, and she would sit in, you know, he would tell her, “I learned this today.” He's working construction. He's like, “Oh, I did this today. And, I'm pretty good at this other thing now.” And that was his process of learning a new skill. And in doing so, that was imprinted on these jeans. And so I thought that that was something so interesting that these jeans had had a life before I purchased them.
KUNM: And what exactly is riso?
YAZZIE: Riso is a Japanese printing technique. It's like a big copy machine. It uses rice paper and it creates a silk screening process for paper. So you can silk screen on t-shirts and whatnot, and you have to build layers in order to create a fuller image. And that same principle applies to riso. So when you're creating it in image on riso, it'll print in channels. So you can create a blue channel, you can create a black channel or a gold channel, and those are the three channels that I've been using to make these risos. So it'll make an imprint with this rice paper, and then it'll just start printing on there. And it's almost like a copy machine, where it'll just print out 100 right away. And then you'll have that layer, and then you'll bring in the next layer, and then you print over that same image again, until you create a full image.
KUNM: What are you trying to express through these prints?
YAZZIE: I bring up authenticity, which is a colonizing term. I use terms like 100%, but there's a thing that I say in there about adaptable to modern times, and that is sort of like brings us all together. You know, we faced all these things, but we're still here. The thing that I think is very key in this riso is the text, it says “Native genes are authentically American before America. Native genes are rugged in nature, yet adaptable to modern times.” And I feel like that line sort of alludes to the idea of, we're still here. Like I'm not in my regalia. I'm trying to fit into these modern times, trying to be visible, trying to get proper representation. So that's also why I put myself in front of the camera and did these self portraits. And as I'm pulling up my pants, that's a visual indication that things don't just fit, I'm trying to make them fit. And so there's just all these sort of things that I'm thinking about.
KUNM: Just the meaning of the name “Native Genes”, because it's not the pair of jeans the way you spell it's like, genetic genes, correct?
YAZZIE: Correct, I do a word on play. I use Native Genes. And then how I spell genes is like the genealogy. And this got popularized as soon as I presented this that maybe a week later, that whole Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad came out, and it was just, it was kind of odd, like, just to hear that coincidence of two people that never met. I'm sure it's not her idea. I'm sure it's the advertising agency's idea. But to have this correlation that we were both thinking about this at the exact same time,it’s hard to explain, like how we were both almost on the same level. Their approach was different. My approach was to bring satire and humor into this. That, to me, is the difference between my and their version.
Ryle Yazzie will be hosting a book launch and exhibit of “Native Genes” on Saturday April 11, 2026 from 5pm-8pm, at Risolana 722 Isleta Blvd. SW Albuquerque, NM 87105. Yazzie will have a demonstration on Sunday April 12, 2026 on how to make photos into risograph prints while talking about his process. Find more information at risolana.org.
