Aboriginal Artist, Australia, 1989

Those first journeys were somewhat random. But then, in my late twenties, I started to understand that this was going to be my artistic path, so I began doing research. In the early years, I never knew these would be museum images or in a book of this magnitude, but I knew it was important work.

How did you go about finding the right people to photograph, and what was your approach when working with them?
I’d contact colleagues who worked in different parts of world, who’d refer me to the right guides. In each region I’d have someone local who spoke the dialect. When I go to work with indigenous peoples, I’m talking to them all the time as I photograph, sharing my feelings with the guide. That’s very important to me. I tell them that these images will speak to other people in the world, and ask them to please share their inner beauty.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu contributed an eloquent foreword to this book. He talks about the concept of Ubuntu, or interdependence of all human beings. Can you say how that matters to your work?
It’s so important, because the true essence of this work is all about our survival and healing the planet. We’re all in it together. If we don’t recognize that, it will be our demise. I feel very much that the power of indigenous peoples is that they can teach us, help us make decisions that are good for the Seventh Generation coming.