In January and February, the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery and the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at Holy Cross, presented “Vision Quest: Men, Women and Sacred Sites of the Sioux Nation, Photographs by Rev. Don Doll, S.J.” Composed of 76 color photographs of contemporary Sioux, “Vision Quest” is named after a sacred ceremony that teaches participants about the responsibility of setting and honoring one’s own limits. The exhibit was launched with a performance by the Quabbin Lake Singers, a Nipmuc family drum group.

Fr. Doll, who was born in Milwaukee, Wis., entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1955. From 1962–65, he served as a teacher, coach and supervisor of the boys’ dormitory at St. Francis Mission on the South Dakota Rosebud Reservation.

During that time, he began working with students to take photographs for the school’s publications. Fr. Doll received formal instruction in photojournalism at Marquette University in 1964, and his pastime soon became a vocation. In 1976, his portraits appeared alongside those of photographers John A. Anderson and Rev. Eugene Buechel, S.J., in a book, titled Crying for a Vision. This volume, which traced 100 years of life on the Rosebud Reservation, earned Fr. Doll acclaim as a portraitist. Since 1976, his work has appeared in numerous publications, including National Geographic.

The Quabbin Lake Singers, a Nipmuc family drum group, performed at the Gallery on Jan. 24, 2004.