"The world is full of stories. But how many of those stories just reinforce what we think we know?"
KILIII YUYAN
Kiliii's new book, Guardians of Life: Indigenous Science, Indigenous Wisdom, and Restoring the Planet, has just been released. Featuring a decade of his National Geographic photography, the book includes contributions from two dozen Indigenous authors and is edited by bestselling author Charles Mann (1491). Learn More + Book Orders
Photographer, Speaker and National Geographic Explorer Kiliii Yüyan has always been drawn to the margins. He is at home on the polar ice, in cold seas, and among human communities inseparable from the natural world. His photographs come from deep, long-term immersion. They are built upon not visits, but relationships. Not observations, but belonging.
Of Chinese and Nanai/Hèzhé (East Asian Indigenous) descent, Kiliii carries his northern Indigenous heritage into everything he makes. He builds traditional dsais (skin-on-frame kayaks) by hand, and photographs with the same patience. His work asks one of the central questions of our time: what does it look like when humanity belongs to nature, rather than standing apart from it?
In the field, he has faced down a stalking polar bear, dived inside icebergs, and earned the trust of people at the far edges of the world. Technical skill gets him there. Trust is what lets him stay long enough to create photographs that are sensory, unhurried, and deeply human.
His photography and storytelling appear in National Geographic, TIME, Vogue, and WIRED. In 2023, National Geographic honored him with the Eliza Scidmore Award for Outstanding Storytelling, one of the society's highest recognitions. His work has been exhibited in museum collections across the U.S. and recognized by Pictures of the Year, Leica Oscar-Barnack, and others.
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. He also speaks widely for the Vital Impacts Live Student Speaker Series across the United States, inspiring the next generation of changemakers to see storytelling as a powerful tool for conservation. . Based in Seattle, he is more commonly found beneath the sea or atop the ice.
Selected Press
Podcasts
Speaking Engagements
- 2025, TEDx Berkeley, CA
- 2025, Keynote: Guardians of Life, Far North Photo Festival, Yellowknife, CA
- 2024, Life on Thin Ice, National Geographic Live, Seattle, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Toronto, Calgary, Port Angeles, Mesa, Denver, Lubbock, West Palm Beach, Buffalo
- 2024, International Center for Photography, NY
- 2022, Gift of the Whale, Whale Tales, HI
- 2021, Photographing the Land at its Extremes, Nikon + Creative Photo Academy, Torrence, CA
- 2021, Keynote, First Light Image Festival, Whitehorse, CA
- 2019, People of the Whale, Museum of Art, Fort Collins, CO
- 2019, Season of the Whale, National Geographic Photography Seminar, Washington D.C.
- 2018, On the Sea Ice, We Wear White, George Eastman Museum, Rochester, NY
Awards
- 2026 — NPPA Best of Photojournalism— Great Bear Sea, Honorable Mention, Science Story
- 2025 — Pictures of the Year International — Guardians of Life, 1st Place, Environmental Vision Award
- 2025 — Siena International Photo Awards — Kayak and the Dogsled, 2nd Place, Storyboard
- 2025 — Px3 Prix de la Photographie Paris — Ceremonies are Conservation, Silver, Feature Story
- 2025 — Px3 Prix de la Photographie Paris — Kayak and the Dogsled, Bronze, Feature Story
- 2025 — International Photography Awards — Guardians of Life, Honorable Mention, Feature Story
- 2025 — International Photography Awards — Thin Places, Honorable Mention, Fine Art Landscape
- 2024 — Px3 Prix de la Photographie Paris — Light of a Warming World, Bronze, Nature
- 2024 — Indigenous Media Awards — Best Podcast (w/ Mongabay)
- 2023 — National Geographic Eliza Scidmore Award for Outstanding Storytelling — Winner
- 2023 — Siena International Photo Awards — Quannah Chasinghorse, Highly Commended, Portraits
- 2023 — Siena International Photo Awards — We Are Here: Native Sovereignty, Commended, Storyboard
- 2023 — Px3 Prix de la Photographie Paris — Quannah Chasinghorse, Bronze, Portraits
- 2023 — Pictures of the Year International — Quannah Chasinghorse, Finalist, Portraits
- 2022 — Zeke Award for Systemic Change — 1st Place
- 2022 — Grist 50 Climate & Sustainability Fixer
- 2021 — Leica Oskar Barnack Award — Finalist
- 2020 — Society of Publication Designers — Indigenous Fire, 1st Place
- 2020 — Nia Tero Storytelling Fellow
- 2020 — U.S. Embassy Headline Artist (UAE: RAK Fine Arts)
- 2020 — International Photography Awards — Waiting for Ice, Honorable Mention, Nature
- 2020 — International Photography Awards — Rural Pandemic, Honorable Mention, Feature Story
- 2020 — International Photography Awards — Arctic Flyway, Honorable Mention, Environment
- 2019 — International Photography Awards — Women of the Iditarod, 1st Place, Feature Story
- 2019 — PDN’s Top 30 Emerging Photographers — Winner
- 2019 — PCNW 22nd Juried Exhibition — 1st Place
- 2018 — Best of ASMP — 1st Place
- 2018 — Eddie Adams Workshop XXXI
- 2018 — Px3 Prix de la Photographie Paris — People of the Whale, Bronze, Feature Story
- 2018 — Px3 Prix de la Photographie Paris — People of the Whale, Bronze, Environment
- 2017 — PDN World in Focus — 1st Place
- 2017 — Px3 Prix de la Photographie Paris — Tuvaq: Edge of the Ice, Gold, Environment
- 2017 — International Photography Awards — As the Ice Melts, Honorable Mention, Feature Story
- 2017 — International Photography Awards — As the Ice Melts, Honorable Mention, Culture
Selected Exhibitions
- 2024, Awe of the Arctic, New York Public Library, Schwarzman Gallery, NY
- 2024, Guardians of Life, XPosure Festival, Dubai, UAE
- 2023, Speaking with Light: Contemporary Indigenous Photography, Fort Worth, TX
- 2023, Thin Places, Turchin Center for Visual Arts, Boone, NC
- 2022, National Geographic Pictures of the Year, Highline Nine Gallery, NY
- 2021, Rumors of Arctic Belonging, Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, OR
- 2020, Lenscratch, Spirit: Indigenous Art, Artists and Issues, Griffin Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
- 2020, In/side Out, National Cheng Kung Art Center, Taipei, Taiwan
- 2020, Connected Communities, National Museum of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
- 2019, People of the Whale, Center for Fine Art Photography, Museum of Art Fort Collins, CO
- 2018, On the Sea Ice, We Wear White, Glazer’s Camera, Seattle, WA
