SECOND PLACE WINNER - Editorial: Environmental (PROFESSIONAL)
Iñupiat: People of the Whale
Photo © Kiliii Fish
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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.
I spent a year and a half living on the North Slope of Alaska with the Iñupiat, camping on the sea ice and whaling with them, trying to avoid getting picked off by a polar bear. I came away with the deepest respect for this powerful arctic community.
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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.
I spent a year and a half living on the North Slope of Alaska with the Iñupiat, camping on the sea ice and whaling with them, trying to avoid getting picked off by a polar bear. I came away with the deepest respect for this powerful arctic community.
About author:
Kiliii Yuyan is an indigenous photographer (Nanai) whose work is dedicated to Native cultures and natural history. He has worked alongside Iñupiat whalers in the Arctic, Anangu aboriginal hunters in central Australia, Inari Sami reindeer-herders in Finland. Kiliii is also a traditional kayak-builder. Through photography, his work tells the stories of the voiceless– people, wildlife, and the changing land.BACK TO GALLERY
