( CNN ) Growing up in Germany , everything Felix von der Osten learned about Native Americans came from the books of 19th-century German writer Karl May . May 's most beloved characters , a noble Apache leader named Winnetou and his cowboy blood brother Old Shatterhand , are said to be more popular today in Germany than the works of Thomas Mann , the 20th-century Nobel Prize-winning author of `` Death in Venice . '' It was n't until von der Osten drove through South Dakota last year , bearing witness to modest homes and trailers on tribal land in the majestic Black Hills , that he realized how one-dimensional his perceptions were . Intrigued , the 25-year-old photographer began researching Native American history . What he learned about its brutal conquest and fraught modern existence inspired him to return to Indian Country to capture the good , the bad and the ugly . `` I wanted to show a slice of life ( through ) the beauty and richness of the culture , '' he said . `` I did n't want to do reportage . I wanted to do slow and thoughtful photographs , like historical documents . '' By chance he landed in Montana 's Fort Belknap Indian Reservation , home to 7,000 members of the Gros Ventre ( Aaniiih ) and the Assiniboine ( Nakoda ) tribes on 675,147 acres of land near the Canadian border . His American girlfriend had distant relatives living there who supported his idea and invited him to stay in their home . His first stop upon arriving in October was to present his idea to the Fort Belknap tribal leadership . With their approval , he spent his first week walking around without his camera , introducing himself to tribal members and building relationships . `` The most important thing was I sat down , listened and learned , '' he said . `` I opened my ears and let them talk so they could teach me . '' Over time , they opened their homes to him and his camera . His choice of a Pentax 67 medium-format roll film camera forced him to carefully consider each shot , to `` create images '' in his head before taking them . It left him with a focused body of work . Social media . Follow @ CNNPhotos on Twitter to join the conversation about photography . He captured sacred tribal rituals and ceremonies along with the more mundane , familiar aspects of life : the tribal basketball team , a horse grazing in a field , a girl sitting on a bunk bed with a stuffed pony , the inside of a casino . Through conversations with tribal members , he also learned of the harsh realities of life on the reservation , from the difficulties youths face in pursuing educational opportunities to the drug and alcohol addiction killing some members . He put the camera away for some of his most memorable experiences -- a sit in the sweat lodge , dinner with his host family -- the ones that formed lasting relationships and earned him the nickname `` the man who crossed the ocean . '' By revealing just a slice , he hopes to arouse curiosity in viewers and inspire them to learn more `` to connect the dots . '' It 's something he plans to continue doing by returning this summer to learn and experience more . `` The story 's not finished , '' he said . `` It 's a big sensitive topic and you have to be very careful , and I want to be careful . '' Felix von der Osten is a German photographer . You can follow him on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter and Tumblr .
German photographer Felix von der Osten spent time at an Indian reservation in Montana . The photos were taken by the artist and conservationist Felix von der Osten, who was visiting a Native American tribe for his latest project.