Land of the Second Sun

Arctic Nomads of Siberia's Yamal Peninsula

Photographer

Heidi Bradner

Concept

Land of the Second Sun documents the unseen and beautiful world of the Nenets, an indigenous people of Siberia whose nomadic journey on sleds following their reindeer over 1,000 miles every year across the polar biosphere makes them unique.

For most of the 20th century, they remained deep behind the Iron Curtain. Surviving Stalin's dictates, the Nenets adapted to communism but managed to keep their nomadic way of life on the tundra.

Today, however, global markets for energy have brought a new threat to the nomads. Russia's largest untapped natural gas reserves lie underneath their tundra homeland. This natural bonanza threatens them more than ever. "Without the reindeer, we are nothing. Our people would be poverty-stricken overnight" says Brigadier Sergei Serotetta, who says the reindeer will stop migrating or perish if their habitat is harmed.

Biography

Heidi Bradner was born and raised in Alaska. Her ongoing work about the war in Chechnya since 1994 has received many awards, including the Leica Medal of Excellence. This project documents the lifecycle of the Nenets, Arctic nomads in Siberia who migrate with their reindeer herds high above the Arctic Circle. She started photographing the Nenets and other cultures of the Russian North as a personal project. The series was awarded a World Press Feature Story in 2003, a Missouri Pictures of the Year 2004 Award of Excellence and a Photo District News "Best of Photography 2004 Annual" Award.

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Land of the Second Sun

Arctic Nomads of Siberia's Yamal Peninsula

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