Guardians of Life: Indigenous Practices for a Thriving Earth
Presented by Central Oregon Landwatch
Thursday, December 4 | 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM
Join award-winning photographer, filmmaker, and National Geographic Explorer Kiliii Yüyan for a transformative journey to meet people living “in relationship” with their ancestral homelands. Indigenous men and women, youth and elders, hunters and farmers, spiritual leaders and craftsmen will reveal their ways of knowing and working with the land. These concepts and skills, taught for generations, are based on a foundational veneration for life—which is at the heart of caring for a living planet. With stories spanning the globe from the Arctic to Australia, Yüyan will remind us that when we protect the more-than-human world, we are also protecting ourselves.
Tickets: $30 General Admission, $15 Student (plus $8 Historic Preservation fee)
Event Speaker:
Photographer and National Geographic Explorer Kiliii Yüyan brings to life stories from the Arctic sea ice, beneath the waves, and within the heart of human communities. Of Chinese and Nanai/Hèzhé (East Asian Indigenous) descent, he works through a cross-cultural lens, exploring how humanity—inseparable from the natural world—lives in relationship with land and sea.
Kiliii has spent years immersed in the polar regions, documenting Indigenous lifeways, marine ecosystems, and remote landscapes. His fieldwork is shaped by experience in the field: he has faced down a stalking polar bear, dived among sea snakes, and found connection and understanding among people often overlooked at the world’s edges. His photography and storytelling appear in National Geographic, TIME, Vogue, WIRED, and other major publications. He also builds traditional kayaks, maintaining a living link to his northern Indigenous heritage.
In 2023, Kiliii was honored with the Eliza Scidmore Award for Outstanding Storytelling, one of National Geographic’s highest recognitions. His work has been recognized by Pictures of the Year, Leica Oscar-Barnack, PDN, and ASMP, and is held in museum collections across the U.S.
A dynamic speaker and storyteller, Kiliii has taken the stage at TEDx, toured with NatGeo Live, and now keynotes through Changemaker Talent, sharing the human stories behind his images. Based in Seattle, he is more commonly found beneath the sea or atop Arctic ice.