Through his documentary photography work, Richard Tsong-Taatarii brings attention to the joys and tribulations of Minnesotans as a staff photographer for the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper. He also enjoys covering communities within our larger society that escape the attention of the mainstream media.
His traveling monograph “Lakota Resistance: the Bison, Horse, and the River” is a five-year documentary on the legacy of the Wounded Knee Massacre on the Pine Ridge Reservation and his extensive coverage of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protests on the Standing Rock Reservation.
In 2017, he garnered an Award of Excellence in newspaper portfolio from POYi, and awards in picture page and portrait series from the NPPA Best of Photojournalism competition. He has also won numerous awards from the Minnesota News Photographers Association and the Upper Midwest Regional Emmy for multimedia journalist of the year.