In pictures
‘We were made the same as the sand’
In 2006, photo-journalist Dominick Tyler spent time in a Bushman relocation camp, and accompanied them when they returned to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve after their court victory.
‘The ocean is our universe’
‘Everything happens at sea. We are not people who are bound to any land.’ The extraordinary lives of the Moken, or Sea Gypsies, of south-east Asia.
‘We learn with the great spirits’
For the Yanomami of the Brazilian Amazon, the spirit world is a fundamental part of life; this gallery depicts the world of the Yanomami shaman. Yet the Yanomami face huge problems. The shamans cannot cure the diseases imported by goldminers and cattle ranchers, and the eastern fringe of their rainforest is being deforested.
Nine facts for 9 August: UN Indigenous Day
Celebrate the UN Day of indigenous peoples with this special gallery – nine little-known facts about tribal peoples.
‘We are here for our children’
From the green depths of the Amazon to the icy reaches of the Arctic, children raised in tribal communities are taught the skills and values they need to survive.
Guardians of the world’s rainforests
It breathes, though you don’t notice it, says Davi Kopenawa of his Amazon home. Tribal peoples have lived in balance with their rainforests for millennia: they are the original guardians.
‘Our souls touch’: Sámi reindeer herders
The Sámi are the indigenous reindeer herders of Scandinavia. These stunning photos show a herd on its annual migration between the summer pastures and the wintering grounds.
The Nenets of Siberia
The Nenets of Siberia have migrated across their lands for thousands of years, but their way of life is now affected by oil drilling and climate change.
‘Today we are crying with happiness’
A celebration of the Bushmen’s historic court victory against their expulsion from their ancestral lands, weaving together photos and testimonies showing their profound connection to their homelands.
Voices from the Lower Omo Valley
The ancestral homes of Ethiopia’s Omo river tribespeople are being destroyed by vast sugar cane plantations. Now, the authorities plan to evict those who stand in the way of these ‘developments’.
Fishermen of Amazonia
The state government of Mato Grosso in Brazil is building a series of dams on the Juruena river. The dams threaten the Enawene Nawe tribe, the fish they eat and the sacred Yãkwa ritual.
The Ashaninka
The Ashaninka of Acre state, Brazil, have recently reported encountering dozens of uncontacted Indians close to their community in Simpatia village.
Nitassinan: walking in the footsteps of Innu ancestors
Survival International joins a group of Innu walkers on a journey across their ancestral territory in northeastern Canada.
We are inside it, and it is inside us
Tribal societies depend on their environments. To mark the UN conference on sustainable development, Survival portrays some of the beliefs and practices of the world’s tribal peoples.
Peru’s uncontacted tribes threatened by gas project
They live no more than 100 kms from Machu Picchu. Today, however, the future of uncontacted tribes who live in the heartland of the ancient Inca Empire is threatened by gas and oil extraction.
Tribal Olympians
Survival reveals some of the astonishing skills of the world’s tribal peoples, from the Awá archers of the Amazon to the Bajau divers of Borneo.
Tribes from the Air
From the air, the diversity of the Earth’s landscapes is enchanting. Tribal peoples have been the guardians of these lands, but their homes are being destroyed as you read this.
The Hadza
Just south of the Equator, between the soda waters of Tanzania’s Lake Eyasi and the ramparts of the Great Rift Valley, live the Hadza, a small tribe of approximately 1,300 hunter-gatherers: one of the last in Africa.
We didn’t know about sugar in the blood
On World Diabetes Day, Survival examines the causes behind the escalating rates of type 2 diabetes among the Innu of north-eastern Canada.
Photographs by Dominick Tyler.
People of the Reindeer
Survival International has campaigned for the rights of reindeer herding tribes for decades.
In this seasonal gallery, Survival reveals extraordinary facts about the reindeer.
Tribal Heroines
On International Women’s Day, Survival International profiles the stories of inspiring tribal women around the world who are fighting for their fundamental human rights.
‘Mother’
The words ‘Aiya’, ‘Ngu’ and ‘Anaanak’ have the same meaning in different tribal languages: Mother. This gallery portrays the lives of tribal mothers, their babies and the lands on which they raise they children.
Celebrities supporting the Awá
Who’s speaking up for Earth’s most threatened tribe?
Get creative to save the Awá yourself using our Awáicon.
The Matsés
The Matsés know no borders. For them, the land which stretches across Brazilian and Peruvian terrain is one ancestral territory; today, however, their way of life is increasingly threatened by a Canadian oil giant.
Fathers’ Day
‘This is my Father’s Father’s Father’s land,’ said a Bushman of his home in Botswana. Yet this ancestral attachment to place means little to outsiders, when there are minerals to mine and trees to fell.
Festivals
As global monoculture erodes cultural diversity, the variety of tribal festivals and rituals is a reminder that humans have diverse insights, different priorities, and choose other – successful – ways of living.
Ingenious skills of tribal peoples
From the hunting peoples of Canada to the hunter-gatherers of Africa, tribal peoples have found ingenious ways of surviving over thousands of years.
The Hunt
Who are the world’s hunter-gatherers? Where do they live and what threats do they face? Which tribe uses the poison well known to western crime-writers, and why might it be more correct to call them ‘gatherer-hunters’?
Refugees in our own country
In September 2013, the female chief of a Guarani community led her community in a reoccupation of their ancestral land. Survival recounts her tragic and inspiring story, with photographs by Paul Patrick Borhaug.
Maasai
Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher have been photographing African tribes for three decades. In a unique gallery collaboration with Survival, Maasai ways of life are beautifully portrayed.
Universal Children’s Day
To mark Universal Children’s Day on November 20, Survival International publishes a gallery of photographs of tribal children, insights into their fascinating ways of life and the threats that jeopardize their futures. (WARNING: contains disturbing image on slide no. 5).
2013: A year of successes
From the suspension of mining concessions in Colombia to the Dongria Kondh’s unanimous rejection of a bauxite mine in India and Vanity Fair’s coverage of the Earth’s most threatened tribe, there were reasons for tribal peoples to celebrate in 2013.
The Awá: Sebastião Salgado’s gallery
Survival International continues its high-profile campaign for the Awá, by collaborating with world-famous Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado.
Tribal Heroines
On International Women’s Day, Survival International profiles the lives and stories of the world’s tribal women.
Operation Awá
After Survival’s global campaign to save the Awá from extinction, the Brazilian government announced that troops and federal agents had been sent in to expel the illegal loggers and cattle ranchers who had invaded the Awá’s territory.
These exclusive photographs show the dramatic scenes that unfolded.
Brazil’s Tribes
There are around 240 indigenous tribes in Brazil today, from the savannahs and Atlantic forest of the south, to the dry interior of the north-east. Who are the tribes, how do they live and what does the future hold for them?
Faces of Genocide
To mark Columbus Day, Survival International reveals current and recent cases of tribal peoples facing genocidal violence by outsiders on their land.
“We, the People” 2015 Calendar
In 2014, Survival International, the global movement for tribal peoples’ rights, held its first-ever photographic competition to mark the charity’s 45th anniversary. Open to amateurs and professionals alike, the competition aimed to celebrate photography as a powerful medium for raising awareness about tribal peoples. The winning entries from the competition were featured in Survival’s stunning 2015 “We, The People” calendar.
“We, the People” 2018 Calendar
Discover a new tribal portrait each month with the Survival International “We, the People” 2018 calendar. Now in its third year, the Survival photography competition showcases tribal peoples on their own lands, as the best conservationists and guardians of the natural world. Open to amateur and professional photographers alike, the competition celebrates the power of photography as a means of raising awareness about tribal peoples, their lives and their lands. Our special thanks to all photographers who entered the competition.
Visit the Survival Shop to get your copy while stocks last.
These images must not be reproduced without Survival’s prior consent.
“We, the People” 2019 – The 50th anniversary Calendar
Our “We, The People” 50th Anniversary Calendar features stunning portraits of indigenous people by some of the world’s leading photographers, including Timothy Allen, Steve McCurry, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, George Rodger and many others.
Each calendar also comes with a free desk calendar with a beautiful image of Awá hunter-gatherers by legendary photographer Sebastião Salgado.
The breathtaking images give an insight into tribal people’s largely self-sufficient and extraordinarily diverse ways of life.
Calendars are £13.99 and available from Survival’s shop.
“We, the People” 2020 Calendar
Discover a new tribal portrait each month with the Survival International “We, the People” 2020 calendar. It features striking portraits of indigenous and tribal people from around the world. The images were selected in Survival’s annual photography competition that celebrates the power of photography as a means of raising awareness about tribal peoples, their lives and their lands.
Visit the Survival Shop to get your copy while stocks last.
These images must not be reproduced without Survival’s prior consent.