Pine Ridge, South Dakota: Our World Through Our Eyes In July, the 2008 National Geographic Photo Camp came to the SuAnne Big Crow Boys & Girls Club in Pine Ridge, South Dakota.  When they left, the coordinators left behind new family and friends as well as more than five state-of-the-art Olympus cameras and a newly established photo club. They took away a deep respect and admiration for the Club, the Lakota people and the land. The Pine Ridge Club applied to be one of 10 sites chosen for the National Geographic Photo Camp.  News came in early spring that the Club was the top ranked applicant.  A team of four professional photographers spent four days with 20 teen Club members. The objective: The connection of the Lakota People to the environment through the lense of the youth. Members were provided with high-tech cameras, professional direction and an understanding that this was their story, their way. The film crew took members to sites across the reservation including historical sites, horse races and pow wows, gardens, panoramic vistas, and the everyday sites where they live.  Through the camera lens, they learned to tell their own stories – the joys, the intimacies and the world that only they truly know. The members took over 8,500 photos in the four days of the camp.  According to the professional team from National Geographic there were many shots good enough to be published in their magazine. Some will be seen on the National Geographic website.  Photos were shared by the participants at a community-wide photo essay presentation. There will be community shows of the members’ work throughout the year. As the National Geographic team packed up to leave, Project Coordinator Lindsay McCullough from National Geographic began making phone calls.  With a beaming smile she reported to Club CPO Chick Big Crow that National Geographic had, for the first time, agreed to schedule a return visit next year to spend more time with the excited and very talented Club members.