Tatsiana Chypsanava

Documentary Photographer

BIOGRAPHY

Tatsiana Chypsanava is a documentary photographer based in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Born in Belarus and a descendant of the Komi peoples of the Siberian North West Ural, she is a member of Diversify Photo and Women Photograph, both groups that champion diversity in the industry. Her work focuses on indigenous rights, migration, and environmental issues. 

Chypsanava is a grantee of the Pulitzer Center and Wellcome Trust. 

PHOTOS: Te Urewera – The Living Ancestor of Tūhoe People

The Ngāi Tūhoe people of the Te Urewera region in New Zealand have maintained a staunch independence. Tūhoe have never lost their connection to their language and cultural identity, and in a groundbreaking 2014 agreement, the New Zealand government opened the way to Tūhoe managing their ancestral lands according to their cultural values.

Recent changes by New Zealand’s right-wing government are seen as reversals of such hard-fought progressive policies regarding indigenous peoples. Yet the Tataiwhetu Trust farm in Te Urewera offers a revitalizing model for a younger generation.