Cara Romero’s “First American Doll” Redefines Indigenous Representation in Groundbreaking Photo Series
When Cara Romero’s daughter turned 11 and developed an interest in dolls, it sparked more than a childhood phase, it ignited a powerful artistic reckoning. Romero, an enrolled member of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe of Southern California and an acclaimed photographer and visual artist, began to reflect deeply on what doll culture communicates to young minds and how those representations shape identity, self-worth and cultural understanding.
Growing up, Romero was surrounded by different forms of doll collecting. Her husband had cherished G.I. Joe figurines as a child, while her mother-in-law curated an elegant collection of Victorian-style porcelain dolls. Yet Romero’s memories of dolls were starkly different. She recalled the Native American dolls commonly sold at roadside truck stops along Interstate 40, figures dressed in plastic pony beads and imitation buckskin, echoing the same reductive and dehumanizing stereotypes found in mass-produced Halloween costumes.
These caricatures, long embedded in popular culture, troubled Romero. Determined to challenge and dismantle these harmful tropes, she channeled her concerns into an ambitious photographic project titled “First American Doll.” Through this series, Romero reclaims Indigenous representation, transforming the doll from an object of stereotype into a vessel of truth, pride and lived identity.
Each photograph in the series features a meticulously designed, life-sized doll box crafted by Romero herself. Within these boxes, Indigenous women are posed not as abstractions, but as individuals, surrounded by objects that reflect their families, traditions, creativity and personal narratives. The work merges fine art photography with conceptual design, creating images that are both visually striking and culturally resonant.
At the heart of the project lies Romero’s role as a mother. She wanted her daughter to grow up with pride in her heritage and a strong sense of self. “I come from a community where women are allowed to have a voice, allowed to be really strong,” Romero explains. “I wanted to pass down good self-esteem and a strong sense of identity. That’s what we aim to do as moms.”
The series began with artist and powwow dancer Wakeah Jhane, who is of Kiowa, Comanche and Blackfeet descent. While Plains Tribes have historically been used as templates for stereotypical Native imagery, Romero’s portrait tells a different story. Jhane is captured wearing intricate buckskin regalia handcrafted by her family, accompanied by her moccasins and a ceremonial fan, objects rich with meaning and lineage.
“The contrast is stark,” Romero notes. “Between what she’s wearing and the way Plains people are portrayed in Halloween costumes, it becomes clear how wrong those portrayals are. I really wanted to own that moment and say, ‘You even got this wrong.’”
Since its inception, “First American Doll” has expanded to include nine photographs. The most recent features Fawn Douglas, an artist, activist and enrolled member of the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe. Douglas is posed with handwoven baskets and a gourd rattle created by her family, framed within a doll box bordered by a Las Vegas-inspired playing card motif, an intentional nod to place, history and modern Native life.
Romero’s use of contemporary symbolism, high-fashion lighting and modern aesthetics underscores a critical message: Indigenous women are not relics of the past. “When artwork, especially photography, is stripped of modern context, it does something psychologically,” Romero explains. “It perpetuates the idea that we’re gone, that we only exist in history.”
By naming each piece after the women portrayed, Romero further challenges historical erasure. In contrast to ethnographic photographs that often reduced Indigenous subjects to nameless figures, “First American Doll” restores individuality, dignity and presence. “So often in those old photographs, they didn’t even record their names,” she says. “We don’t know who they were. That matters.”
Selected works from the series are currently traveling across the United States as part of Romero’s first solo museum exhibition, “Panûpünüwügai (Living Light).” The exhibition continues its national tour with its next stop at the Phoenix Art Museum in Arizona, where it will open in February, offering audiences an opportunity to engage with a body of work that redefines representation, honors living culture, and reclaims the narrative of Indigenous womanhood.
