National Geographic Photographer Kiliii Yuyan illuminates stories of the Arctic and human communities connected to the land and sea. Informed by ancestry that is both Nanai/Hezhe (Indigenous East Asian) and Chinese-American, he has traveled across the polar regions working with Indigenous cultures, wildlife, and underwater. On assignment, he has survived a stalking polar bear, escaped pounding waves diving with sea otters, and found kinship at the edges of the world. Kiliii has photographed the cover of National Geographic Magazine twice, producing nine stories for National Geographic since 2015, including the July 2022 cover story on Native North America, migratory birds of the Arctic, and Greenland’s kayak culture. His story on Indigenous conservation from Mongolia to Palau comprised the August 2024 issue of the Geographic. Kiliii is the 2023 recipient of the National Geographic Eliza Scidmore Award and is a National Geographic Explorer. Kiliii is also an award-winning contributor to TIME, Vogue, WIRED and Bloomberg Businessweek.