Artist Creates Doll Series to Empower Indigenous Girls

Cara Romero was tired of seeing Indigenous people portrayed as historical relics instead of living, vibrant individuals.

In 2018, the photographer launched a powerful answer to years of watching her daughter grow up surrounded by culturally inaccurate Native American dolls. She created "First American Girl," a photography series that presents real Indigenous women framed inside sets that look like doll boxes.

"The inspiration for the First American Girl series was a lifetime of seeing Native American people represented in a dehumanized way," Romero told The Museum of Modern Art. "My daughter was born in 2006, and I really wanted her self-image to be different."

The first portrait featured Wakeah Jhane Myers of the Kiowa and Comanche tribes. She stands tall in a Southern Buckskin dress, surrounded by traditional and contemporary pieces of regalia. Every detail was chosen with care and cultural accuracy.

Each year, Romero adds new portraits to the series. She's photographed women like Naomi of the YTT Northern Chumash Tribe and Amber Morningstar of the Choctaw Tribe. Each portrait captures the unique identity and lived experiences of different Indigenous people.

The series does more than create beautiful art. It challenges the flat, outdated stereotypes that dominated the dolls and media Romero saw as a child.

The Ripple Effect

Romero's project started as a gift for her daughter but has grown into something that benefits Indigenous girls everywhere. The portraits show them what authentic representation looks like.

"I come from a community where women are allowed to have a voice, allowed to be really strong," she told The 19th. "So wanting to pass down good self-esteem and a strong sense of self and identity. That's what we aim to do as moms."

The photographs accomplish what mass-produced dolls never could: they honor the diversity, strength, and contemporary reality of Indigenous women and girls.