An American Girl project is a quintessentially North American tale that seeks to remind viewers of their own family stories. This body of work is a fundamental deep dive into the intricacies of our heritage, exploring how migration and cultural blending shape our collective experience. The tales that form the core of An American Girl are from the extended Northwest family of creator Patricia Houghton Clarke; they are connected to Patricia through blood and marriage. This extended, multi-racial family has come together over generations to create Patricia’s beloved first grandchild, Edie Rei, the subject of An American Girl.
An American Girl demonstrates how the arts foster compassionate communities, encouraging viewers to challenge their beliefs and attitudes. It is an invitation to step into someone else’s shoes, to understand the journey of others, and to bravely face our own reflections and those of others. These themes are universal; all families have their own unique tales of resilience and change.
The medium format photographs in this series were taken in June 2025, during two long-awaited chapters in the development of this project. During a 3,000-mile road trip through 6 states, the first leg of the trip was a visit to the Makah Tribe in Neah Bay, Washington, where Patricia delivered her Great-Great Grandfather’s account of his time there in the 1870’s. She and her sister were welcomed with open arms by members of the tribe, eager for any information about their shared history. Immediately following this leg of the journey she met with her daughter by marriage, Edie Rei’s mother. They followed the route from Seattle to Minidoka, Idaho that her Japanese American parents were required to take when they were forced to leave their homes and their livelihoods during World War II. It is the hope that walking those nearly abandoned grounds and facing history will pave the way for deep family healing and serve as a stark reminder for America again today.
qʷi·qʷi·diččaq_Makah, 2025 ©Patricia Clarke
BIO
PATRICIA HOUGHTON CLARKE
A self-taught photographer trained in life painting, drawing and fabric arts, Patricia is particularly interested in culture, history and human nature. She has decades of travel in over 40 countries and years of work in visual arts and social justice efforts. Her international award-winning photography has been an exploration of humanity, both near and far. From the jungles of Borneo and the Drag culture of southern California to planetary migration and ecological crises, she blends her photographic work with a quest to promote understanding between cultures. She was the Co-Founder of Homes for People in California in 1980 and founded Facing Ourselves in southern Italy in 2016.
Her newest large-scale project, “An American Girl,” is currently in production with a team of talented artists and social justice activists.
Patricia’s work has been featured in exhibitions and publications around the United States and Europe. A collection of her photographs of Barack Obama’s 2007 Presidential campaign and 2008 election is featured in the Barack Obama Presidential Library collection/National Archives. The University of Chicago’s Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center also houses a digital collection of Clarke’s Obama/Election Night 2008 images, along with her recent photo book created during the pandemic; Facing Ourselves: Reckoning. An exhibition of images from Obama’s first election night in Chicago is being planned for the fall of 2028 at the University of Chicago’s Hannah Holborn Special Collections Library.
