Powerful “No Strangers” photo show explores fate of the world’s indigenous people

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posted Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 7:10 PM EDT

 
 

While there are 7,000 languages on the planet, half of those unique voices are in danger of being silenced within a generation or two. That's the dilemma highlighted by a new exhibition, titled "No Strangers: Ancient Wisdom in a Modern World," at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles.

The show features powerful portraits by 24 photographers of some of the world's indigenous people who are on the brink of extinction. Curated by anthropologist and photographer Wade Davis, the exhibition features photos of Mongolian nomads whose culture is threatened by mining projects; and portraits of Amazonian pygmies who have been hired to tear down the very forest they live in.

Other images in the show feature the 2,500-year-old traditions of Tibetan Buddhists of Nepal; Ethiopian tribes participating in bull-jumping as a ritual of tribal membership and manhood; and the Lakota tribe of Native Americans in South Dakota who still take part in spiritual ceremonies such as Sun Dances and sweat lodges.

Photographers included in the show are as follows: Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher, Wade Davis, Chris Johns, Lynn Johnson, Steve McCurry, Randy Olson, Chris Rainier, Hamid Sardar, Timothy Allen, Caroline Bennett, James P. Blair, Edward Burtynsky, David Hiser, Aaron Huey, Thomas Kelly, Mauricio Lima, William Fernando Martinez, James Stanfield, Brent Stirton, Amy Toensing, Jeroen Toirkens, A Yin and Gordon Wiltsie.

The exhibition runs through February 24, 2013 at the Annenberg Space for Photography at 2000 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067.

(Via laist)

(Thanks Phil!)

 
© Steve McCurry
 
© Timothy Allen
 
© Hamid Sardar-Afkhami
 
© Timothy Allen
 
© Brent Stirton