Kiliii Yuyan, Photographer

09/02/2024

Palau maintains some of the most protected and biodiverse waters in the world thanks to the steadfast efforts of Hotsarihie’s traditional stewards, the Hatohobei people. Hotsarihie, also known as Helen Reef, is a protected reef in southwestern Palau. Traditional Hatohobei stewardship has safeguarded Helen Reef and guided the creation of Palau’s national marine sanctuary, which protects 80% of Palau’s waters from exploitative mining and fishing, and the robust populations of fish and remarkable coral regrowth seen today.

Photographer and Nat Geo Explorer Kiliii Yüyan documents Palau’s vibrant reef environment and the people who keep it flourishing. Read about the Hatohobei people’s innovative protections — and more stories that highlight trailblazing Indigenous contributions to conservation and cultures — in National Geographic Magazine's July 2024 special issue on “Indigenous Futures.” http://on.natgeo.org/6182YqDxI

Photo of blacktip reef sharks swimming in Palau’s Rock Islands Southern Lagoon by Kiliii Yuyan, Photographer

11/03/2023

A sneak peek at the Mongolia portion of my Guardians of Life project, due out as the August issue of . The fieldwork is now complete! It will be 5 separate stories- nearly the entire issue!

Tumen, my Mongolian aunty while living with the nomadic herders in the Altai mountains, unfolds a felt covering for the ger (yurt) that me and would live in for 3 weeks. She is one of the hardest working people I have ever met- but she always made offerings to the 4 directions and the land and sky each morning before anything else. ☺️

02/17/2023

Photographer, visual storyteller, and Nat Geo Explorer Kiliii Yüyan’s work has brought him to some of the world’s harshest environments. But it’s his empathetic approach that helps illuminate the human relationship to the natural world.

For his incredible portfolio Yüyan has earned the National Geographic Society’s 2023 Eliza Scidmore Award for Outstanding Storytelling. He is also part of the 2022 cohort of Explorers to receive funding from National Geographic Society and The Climate Pledge for his ongoing climate storytelling projects.

Recently, Yüyan was recognized as one of National Geographic Magazine’s Photographers of the Year for 2022. Check out some of the remarkable work that earned him the nod: http://on.natgeo.org/61853bAA9

01/09/2023

The NatGeo Eliza Scidmore Award / What we spend our life doing - http://blog.kiliii.com/the-natgeo-eliza-scidmore-award-we-are-what-we-spend-our-time-doing/ // The greatest thing– the only thing – to sustain an artist, is the work itself.

I remember standing in the bright midday, hiding between a giant tin roof and an open concrete slab, sweating profusely into the humid air. My assistant Citlali and I were taking a moment of

12/20/2022

Image by

Portrait of .rose in front of sacred Indigenous land near her childhood home on the Navajo Nation. The landform is known as West Mitten, in Monument Valley, Utah. Set aside in 1958, it is a Navajo Nation tribal park, considered sacred by Diné and managed by the nation. Self-management of lands sacred to Indigenous peoples is one major aspect of the Native American landback movement.

11/21/2022

I am incredibly honored to receive the Eliza Scidmore award from
National Geographic and must absolutely thank all the communities that embraced me and trusted me to share their stories. Everything I do as a photographer starts with those relationships. ☺️

Kiliii Yüyan received the Society's 2023 Eliza Scidmore Award for Outstanding Storytelling for his work illuminating human communities and their connection to land and sea

07/17/2022

06/15/2022

My first cover story for National Geographic has landed, and I can now die and have my nutrients return to the sea. It’s so exciting to see a story on Native Sovereignty on the cover of ! I hope the story helps everyone understand that respecting sovereignty means a better world for all, with more salmon, less wildfires, the return of bison, and much more. My heartfelt thanks to cover model .rose and my editor , as well as writer Charles Mann! Link to the story is in my bio.

05/10/2022

Finally get to share that I have received a grant from ’s Global Storytellers Fund and their new collaboration with ! 🎉

I’m photographing the Indigenous stewardship of land and biodiversity across the globe- from Greenland’s narwhal hunters to Palau’s reef protectors. Learn about the fund and the projects it will support in the link in my bio!

Illustration of me as a photographer by the brilliant . Shoutout to Joe, who is faculty at where I studied design for a summer back in the day!

02/16/2022

Excited and honored to announce that my story Indigenous Fire, on cultural burning as used by the Yurok and Karuk Nations of Northern California, has taken 1st place in the Zeke Award for Systemic Change. This year's theme is Climate Change, and I really appreciate the prize was focused on

Excited and honored to announce that my story Indigenous Fire, on cultural burning as used by the Yurok and Karuk Nations of Northern California, has taken 1st place in the Zeke Award for Systemi

07/14/2021

I am excited to announce my fine-art documentary series, Rumors of Arctic Belonging, has been shortlisted for the Leica Oskar Barnard Award!

The Arctic is changing radically. In his impressive series, the American photographer Kiliii Yüyan (born 1979) offers insight into the fascinating

I am excited to announce my fine-art documentary series, Rumors of Arctic Belonging, has been shortlisted for the Leica Oskar Barnard Award!The Arctic is changing radically. In his impressive

05/10/2021

Representing Asian American and Pacific Islanders!

National Geographic photographer Kiliii Yuyan illuminates the stories of the Arctic, including how human communities connect to the land, through photography. His mission, informed by his Nanai/Hèzhé (East Asian Indigenous) and Chinese-American ancestry, is to give a voice to indigenous and minority issues.

This , we are excited to celebrate Kiliii and all of the members of our National Geographic family who identify as members of the AAPI community. Stay tuned throughout May to hear more of their stories.