Author of seven books, accomplished photographer, and wide-ranging tour guide to the Indian country of the High Plains, Serle Chapman brings a unique perspective to the people in the heart of North America, past and present.His forebears include the frontier scout Amos Chapman, and Chapman's Cheyenne wife Long Neck Woman, granddaughter of Black Kettle and survivor of the fights on Sand Creek and the Washita. Chapman's book Promise: Bozeman's Trail to Destiny combines Indian and white, contemporary and historical accounts of the troubles along Wyoming and Montana's Bozeman trail in the 1860s with his own photos and historical photos from the time. Out of this cultural mix of attitudes toward the past, truth, fact, and memory comes a deep and rich account.
Chapman’s work has been highlighted on national TV and radio, and one of the world’s premiere arts complexes, London’s Barbican Centre, described him in their ‘Written America’ series as “a critically acclaimed writer and one of the world’s leading photographers.” His photography is on permanent display at museums and visitor’s centers in North and Central America, including the Biosphere Center in Mexico.
Chapman’s writing and photography has appeared in numerous national and international publications, including The Times of London, The Navajo Times, Indian Country Today, The Lakota Times, Aboriginal Voices (Canada) and various city and statewide newspapers. His work has been praised by Vine Deloria, Bill Clinton, and Nelson Mandela, and his photographs have been compared with those of Edward Curtis.
Chapman will appear on the "Plain Facts and True Stories" panel at the Equality State Book Festival at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper. He will be available to sign books after the panel.
