Documentary Galleries: Tibet

This annual pilgrimage to the remote Kham and Amdo regions of Tibet has become a passion of mine over the years as my concern for this endangered culture grows. Central Tibet has already become heavily controlled by Chinese infiltration, and even the more remote eastern areas have become deeply affected. Tibetan nomadic life has started to wane with the government forced migration of the nomads to the cities. After the 1959 Tibetan uprising against the Chinese, more than 130,000 Tibetans followed their spiritual and political leader, the Dalai Lama, into exile and built fifty-seven refugee settlements spread throughout the neighboring countries of India, Nepal, and Bhutan.

Peering through my lens at the smoke spiraling from the few yak hair tents dotting the landscape, I am reminded of Edward Curtis, taking photos of the last American Indians across the plains.