Scottish photographer Kieran Dodds has extended his decade-long project documenting red-haired individuals by focusing on America, uncovering stories of cultural heritage and mixed ancestry across the country. After publishing a global collection in 2020 without American subjects, Dodds spent several years travelling throughout the United States, meeting red-haired Americans from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds for his new book 'Gingers of America'.

Dodds discovered that many Native American subjects with red hair traced the trait to Scottish and Irish ancestors who married into tribal communities in earlier generations. Examples include Lottie Wahkinney, a Comanche girl whose Scottish grandparents came from Galashiels. However, one Cherokee subject named Lakia presented a puzzling exception—her distinctive deep ruby-red hair emerged in childhood despite her family having no documented European ancestry, leaving the origin of her striking hair colour unexplained.