Photojournalism nominee

The Iñupiat are the indigenous people of the North Slope of Alaska, whose culture developed around the practice of whaling. For over 2,000 years they have hunted bowhead whales from sealskin umiaq boats. Today, they are fighting for a prosperous, modern future while keeping their cultural identity alive. The forces of climate change and modernization are rapidly altering the traditional lifestyle of one of the last hunter-gatherer cultures.

Kiliii Yuyan is an indigenous photographer (Nanai) whose work is dedicated to Native cultures and wilderness conservation. He is also a wilderness expeditioner and a teacher of traditional kayak-building. Through photography, his work tells the stories of the voiceless– people and wilderness.

Kiliii’s work has been awarded by Communication Arts and Sony World Photo; his clients include The Nature Conservancy and REI. Kiliii spends the majority of his time above the Arctic Circle or on the ocean at the edges of our wild world.