Terminally ill Sedona photographer selling NFTs to benefit Hopi Tribe

Sedona man captures photos of the Hopi Tribe, plans to sell as NFTs

A terminally ill Sedona man is on a mission to help the Hopi tribe, and he's hoping his photography will help make a difference. FOX 10's Irene Snyder reports.

PHOENIX - A terminally ill Sedona man is on a mission to help the Hopi tribe, and he's hoping his photography will help make a difference.

Two years ago, David Lennard was given two to five years to live, and he did not think he would make it to his 60th birthday.

He spent most of his life working in the corporate world and decided in his remaining years to take refuge in Sedona, a place he's always wanted to call home.

"Decided to work on my photography for awhile and see if I could find another purpose that was going to be less brutal on my body and my brain," said Lennard.

He spent months in the hospital battling multiple myeloma and was left unable to walk for weeks. However, something told David he still had more life to live and more to do.

Lennard managed to walk and even hike again.

On his 60th birthday, with his camera in one hand and his trusty dog by his side, he ran into a woman who told him stories after the Hopi tribe in northeastern Arizona. He drover 3.5 hours to visit and was shocked by what he found.

"I've traveled a lot, saw maybe 35 countries, including many developing countries and third-world nations, and what I saw at Hopi was as bad as I saw over the years on those travels," Lennard said.

He was invited back to the tribe many times. He avoided taking pictures of people, but documented his journey along the land.

"I stumbled upon a canyon with thousands upon thousands of petroglyphs and I saw their stories," Lennard said. "I saw their histories depicted in these red rocks that date back tens of thousands of years, and I also came across modern day graffiti.

"I decided in that moment that I would do everything…I could to support them, and that was the moment that that became my purpose," he continued.

Lennard put together 14 pictures from his journey, and in a couple weeks, he will be selling NFTs to help raise money for the tribe.

With his remaining time on Earth, his goal is to educate others about the tribe's history and beauty.

"I'm looking forward to sharing those and the beauty that lies beyond their backyards," Lennard said.

Learn more: https://www.davidlennard.com/