DANA GLUCKSTEIN: In the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu ¨...the first law of our being is that we are set in a delicate network of interdependence with our fellow human beings.”

Woman with Pipe, Haiti, 1983

Image: Photograph © Dana Gluckstein

¨This cover image is deeply meaningful to me. It was one of the first portraits I created on my earliest journey to Haiti almost 30 years ago. She is my beacon and set the course for my lifetime body of work. She reminds us that we must listen to the voices of the ancient ones if our planet is to survive. The ability to capture time standing still, to witness the eternity that resides in a moment, is what I strive to achieve in a portrait session and the resulting images¨

Portraits from the Corners of the Earth

Dana Gluckstein has photographed indigenous peoples from America to Bhutan for over 30 years. See striking images, and commentary, from her new book Dignity.

Tribal Man in Transition, Kenya, 1985

Image: Photograph © Dana Gluckstein

Years ago, I met a beautiful man in a dusty roadside market in Kenya. With tribal markings on his forehead and a torn western t-shirt, he was caught between his traditional village and the modern capitol of Nairobi. He asked me to take his portrait. I called this image “Tribal Man in Transition” a thematic precursor to my current photographs.

¨For over three decades, I have photographed indigenous peoples—groups who maintain their ancestral culture and societies—fighting for their very lives.

In the words of Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, “Indigenous peoples throughout the world have something profound and important to teach those of us who live in the so-called modern world…They teach us that the first law of our being is that we are set in a delicate network of interdependence with our fellow human beings.”  visit the photo galleries  HERE

Chanter, Hawaii, 1996

Image: Photograph © Dana Gluckstein

¨Amidst such degradation and dispossession, there are stories of hope. This image depicts the cultural renaissance of Native Hawaiians who seek to heal the centuries of cultural erosion and loss of identity that followed the theft of their kingdom. Now their children attend Hawaiian cultural immersion programs where they learn to speak their once forbidden Hawaiian language, to dance their traditional hula, and to feel proud of their heritage¨.”  visit the photo galleries HERE

· Thanks to Dana Gluckstein
· Thanks to The Daily Beast, Art Beast, sidebar
· Thanks to Archbishop Desmond Tutu
· Thanks to DIGNITY, a new book by Dana Gluckstein