Dignity

Photographer Gluckstein offers more than 90 portraits of indigenous peoples from some of the world's most impoverished and oppressed populations, managing in each frame, a rare balance of formal composition and breathtaking intimacy. Her black and white photographs of men, women, and children—from Kenya, Mexico, Fiji, Botswana, Bhutan, Canada—are striking, textured masterpieces of mood that pay a powerful homage to imperiled cultures. Intended to raise awareness about the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People—with provisions to maintain the survival of indigenous peoples, signed by 144 countries (and notably and controversially unsigned by the U.S. and Australia, which both boast large populations of historically oppressed native populations)—the book transcends its purpose. These photos are first and foremost of individuals—a Masai elder, a Bushman healer, a sinuous Balinese dancer—variously proud or defeated, defiant or coy, instantly recognizable, and signaling our collective interdependence and fragility. (Nov.)