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Three nations on opposite sides of the globe are linked by indigenous culture and the threat of industrialization on its preservation.

In China, Tibetans have for decades struggled to regain their freedom. But now, for the first time, Tibet’s people are becoming a minority in their own homeland as their culture is quickly evaporating into the Chinese landscape. To many there, political freedom is no longer a realistic quest but the freedom to preserve a centuries-old cultural heritage remains in question.

In Bolivia, the autonomy of more than 300 minority ethnic groups is threatened by the rapid modernization of Bolivian society. Tibetans and the people of Bolivia’s largest minority community, the Aymara, share a striking physical resemblance; some anthropologists claim that an ancient migration across the continents may in fact connect the cultures by blood. I photographed at elevations ranging from 11,000 to 17,000 feet in each country while seeking to compare and contrast two cultures sharing common bonds.

In Thailand, the society of the Akha minority group is now losing its cultural identity. As electricity comes to each village, in turn, its inhabitants begin to realize the homogenized and idealized life portrayed on satellite television. The young often choose to leave the simple village life behind, in search of work and the other lures of city life.

As each culture rapidly modernizes, its cities swell with rural peoples, many of them ethnic minorities seeking economic opportunity. On the surface, life in the countryside remains largely unchanged. However, the autonomy of ethnic peoples, such as the Ani and Tumu in China, and the Quechua in Bolivia, becomes endangered as community members leave traditions behind and migrate to urban areas.

In 2004, I had the opportunity to witness rural life in mountainous regions of Tibet, southwestern China and Bolivia.  Each country is undergoing dramatic change. Rather than photograph such transition, I decided to try to do my small part to document the traditions of country life.

I believe that it is of significant importance to document the traditions of indigenous cultures that are rapidly fading throughout the world. As a documentary photographer, it is my goal to document such traditions before they disappear and it is my hope that viewers may consider assisting in their preservation.

Part 1: China

Part 3: Thailand

For information on obtaining prints from the Vanishing Heritage series, please contact John Kaplan at kaplan@writeme.com.

In The Fray Contributor