Larry McNeil

Background

Larry McNeil was born in Juneau, Alaska on May 12, 1955 into the Killer Whale House, Keet Hit, of the Northern Tlingit and was raised in both Juneau and Anchorage, Alaska.

Career

His photographs range on subjects and formats from realist portraits to tribal elders, from abstract cityscapes to electronic manipulations of tribal environments. His images are considered personally meaningful as they are representative of tribal realities and highlight the sensitivity behind the representation of Native Americans. He received his education from Brooks Institute School of Photographic Art and Science in Santa Barbara, California.

Larry McNeil describes himself as a product of both the traditional Tlingit culture and mainstream North America, with an emphasis on the Tlingit aspect.

In 1983, he worked with Alaska Native Foundation and produced Yupik Eskimo women weaving distinctive grass baskets. Later in 1986, He created seventeen portraits of tribal clan leaders in Northwest Arctic School District.

In the same year, he was nominated as vice-president of Native Indian Inuit Photographers Association. He was also an instructor in Institute of American Indian Arts as well as a commercial photographer.

McNeil previously taught at the Institute of American Indian Arts and is currently an associate professor of photography at Boise State University.

Works 1983: Award of Excellence, Public Relations Society of America.

Achievements

• 1983: Award of Excellence, Public Relations Society of America 1983-1986: Merit Award, Advertising Federation of America 1992: Outstanding Photographic Technical Quality and Outstanding Outdoor Photography, Native Inuit Photography Association 2006: "All Roads" Photography Award, National Geographic.

Membership

This made him a member of both the Tlingit and Nisga"a tribes.