Amber Bracken

Contemporary Issues first prize story

33-year-old Canadian photojournalist Amber Bracken won the category for her moving photo essay on the Native American protests over the building of an oil pipeline on their ancestral lands at Standing Rock, North Dakota in December 2016.

“Indigenous people are some of the biggest sufferers of civil rights abuses in Western society, particularly here in North America,” says Amber. “I wanted to show this through my work.

“Editing this story for World Press Photo was one of the toughest creative processes I’ve gone through,” she adds. “I shot thousands of images during the months I’d been going to Standing Rock. To get the narrative right, it really came down to the relationship between the pictures – how one photo spoke to the next. The final edit ended up including a lot of my quieter images. Even in the shot of the police line, where you feel the tension, there is no action – it is implied but not present.”

Amber used a EOS 5D Mark III on these shoots, along with three EF L-series lenses: a 16-35mm, a 70-200 f/2.8 zoom and a 50mm f/1.4 standard lens that performs beautifully in low light and gives more creative depth-of-field options thanks to its extra-wide maximum aperture. “I shot mostly wide-angle and up close because I wanted to get to the heart of the story,” she adds.

Even though her work does an excellent job of throwing light on what the Native American residents of Standing Rock were going through during this time, she feels she only scratched the surface. “I documented a mere chapter of the what was going on. There was such a large, diverse mix of tribes and camps, it was impossible to chronicle the whole story.”

Fortunately, she was not alone in wanting to expose what was happening at Standing Rock. “There were hundreds of other photographers covering the same story as me,” says Amber, whose shots of the protests were published by BuzzFeed. “That was a wonderful thing because we were building the critical mass of pictures that got the truth about what the Native American people were going through out to a wide audience – that’s the power of photojournalism.”

Veterans carry an American and a Mohawk Warrior Society flag through the storm.

Veterans carry an American and a Mohawk Warrior Society flag through the storm.
Taken on a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with an EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens.

Vonda Long, descendent of High Hawk, who was killed in the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre.

Vonda Long, descendent of High Hawk, who was killed in the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre.
Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with an EF50mm f/1.4 USM lens.

Riot police clear marchers from a secondary road outside a Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) worker camp using rubber bullets, pepper spray, Tasers and arrests.

Riot police clear marchers from a secondary road outside a Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) worker camp using rubber bullets, pepper spray, Tasers and arrests.
Taken on a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with an EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens.

In camp, everyday tasks like cooking and chopping wood are done on the front line.

In camp, everyday tasks like cooking and chopping wood are done on the front line. Here men unload a massive donation of firewood.
Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with an EF50mm f/1.4 USM lens.

A man is treated after being pepper sprayed by police.

A man is treated after being pepper sprayed by police.
Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with an EF50mm f/1.4 USM lens.

Horses are central in Sioux culture, described "like my brothers," by one youth.

Horses are central in Sioux culture, described "like my brothers," by one youth.
Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with an EF50mm f/1.4 USM lens.

Oceti Sakowin, or the Seven Council Fires, is the true name of the great Sioux nation and refers to the coming together of the different factions of the tribe.

Oceti Sakowin, or the Seven Council Fires, is the true name of the great Sioux nation and refers to the coming together of the different factions of the tribe.
Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with an EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens.

DAPL, if completed, will be approximately 1,172 miles, and pass under the Missouri River.

DAPL, if completed, will be approximately 1,172 miles, and pass under the Missouri River.
Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with an EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens.

The Missouri River is the longest river in the United States and travels for over 2,300 miles through Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

The Missouri River is the longest river in the United States and travels for over 2,300 miles through Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.
Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with an EF50mm f/1.4 USM lens.

Further information about World Press Photo is available at www.worldpressphoto.org