We Alaskans

Intensely Inuit: Photographer captures life in remote Alaska

Sometimes success begets success, so Anchorage photographer Brian Adams will spend a full year visiting two dozen villages to document the people and places of rural Alaska.

Sound familiar? It should.

Adams' 2013 book "I Am Alaskan" was a provocative mix of portraiture and fine art that depicts the people who make up the Alaska mosaic. Few of the photos are straightforward portraits. Adams paid as much attention to the settings and backgrounds as he did to the people. Viewers get a sense of both the person and the place. Adams calls it "environmental portrait photography."

Now he's taking that effort a step further with help from the Inuit Circumpolar Council, which commissioned Adams after seeing "I Am Alaskan." Before long, "I Am Inuit" was born.

Kelly Eningowuk of the Alaska arm of the ICC liked the idea of combining Adams' portraiture approach with the street photography style of Humans of New York. Humans of New York is a series that includes interviews with everyday New Yorkers, and photographer Brandon Stanton gained a measure of popularity with his series on social media, which has gone on to become something of a nationwide phenomenon.

Taking a cue from Humans of New York, Adams will turn his focus to selected groups of Alaska Native people -- Inupiat, Yup'ik, Cup'ik and St. Lawrence Island Yupik -- living in remote villages, capturing them in their everyday environment along with quotes from interviews.

"What I'm looking for is usually people in their landscape, their place," he said. "I'm basically exploring who lives in Alaska and where they choose to live. That's very interesting to me."

ADVERTISEMENT

Since the United States assumed the Arctic Council chairmanship, a term that runs through 2017, the ICC figured it was a good time to roll out an Inuit-focused project via social media to raise the profile of the Arctic. "We wanted people to realize that the U.S. is an Arctic nation," says Eningowuk. In doing that, she aims to show the general public that the Arctic is more than wildlife and resources -- that there is a rich human dimension.

"The intention was to highlight the people that live in the Arctic and to share and celebrate our culture," he said.

Over the course of a year, Adams expects to visit about 20 villages from Teller to Kaktovik.

For his first visit to a village, Adams traveled to Quinhagak, where he produced 33 portraits of residents.

"After Quinhagak, we realized that if we kept up that pace, we could post a photo a day (on social media) until the project was complete. And so, Monday through Friday I post portraits and interviews. On Saturday and Sunday I post sense-of-place images."

After Quinhagak, Adams visited Teller, Shungnak, Kaktovik, Noatak and Tuluksak.

Adams, 30, says the goal of the project is to connect the world with Alaska Inuit by using human themes we all share.

"We are aiming to have a wide audience, and hopefully extend the project to other countries in the Arctic," Adams said.

While "I Am Inuit" is similar in some ways to Adams' earlier project, the approach is different, offering him a new way of working.

In his earlier effort, Adams took a street-photography approach, trying to capture moments. With "Inuit," his image-making is more considered.

"Before each portrait, I tell (the subject) what I am in town shooting … and ask if they have time for a few questions. Some conversations take five minutes, others can take hours," Adams said.

Because he only has a few days in each village, Adams tries to give everyone an opportunity to tell their story. Quotes are posted with the images on Facebook and Instagram, adding to the richness and intimacy of the project.

"Elders have been especially wonderful in sharing wisdom and long stories about their pasts and how their villages have grown and changed in their lifetimes," Adams said.

There's a folksiness and intimacy to the beautifully photographed series. Adams finds the give-and-take relationship with his subjects part of the appeal of documentary photography.

"I ask someone if I may make a photograph of them, and they almost always say yes. I hope that in some way I am giving them a gift that they feel is equivalent to the gift they give me."

Gradually, Adams is growing an audience.

"I Am Inuit" has more than 7,000 followers on Facebook and some 800 on Instagram. Eningowuk has been encouraged by the Facebook comments and enthusiasm for what Adams is doing. The production phase of the project ends June 30, but portraits will continue to be posted as long as there's fresh content to share. There are plans to eventually publish a photo book of the work.

Photos and stories will be shared on "I Am Inuit's" social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr) and on a website dedicated to the project, iaminuit.org.

Tara Young

Tara Young was a video journalist for ADN.

ADVERTISEMENT