1. The rugged — and, in some places, impenetrable — mountains, river valleys, and forests have formed natural barriers that make for rough-going terrain. This is home to some of the world’s oldest civilizations.

2. During the harvest season, fields in northeast Myanmar are dotted in bright red, as Palaung families gather their rice crop. Here, a 15-year-old girl separates the chaff by slapping each bundle from on high. As she is of marriageable age, she is dressed in her most colorful clothing to attract a mate wherever and whenever the occasion arises.

3. An Akha Mu La woman shepherds her cattle at day’s end along a winding path to her village in the Shan State of Myanmar. Dressed entirely in indigo from headdress to leggings, she switches a long tree branch and shushes the stragglers, just as her ancestors have done long before her.

4. Following the traditional lifestyle of their ancestors, girls learn from an early age the steps of clothing fabrication from their mothers and grandmothers — from growing cotton, ginning, carding, rolling, spinning, winding, weaving, dyeing, to embroidering and adorning their textiles. Every garment is a demonstration of skill, love, and creativity that protects and identifies the wearer. Here, a Hmong Tsai (Striped) elder unravels hemp fibers she has spun on a massive wheel in her mountaintop village in Phongsali Province, in the northeastern corner of Laos.

5. A large celebration was taking place with prayers, feasting, and singing near Muang Sing, Laos, when I stopped to visit. It was the wedding day of Pelia, aged 18, and his bride, Mipia, aged 19, who was already several months pregnant with their first-born. In Akha Puli Hulai tradition, the boy’s ceremonial headdress is as imposing and magnificent as that of the girls, and can reach one tier higher than this one shown, measuring up to 13 inches.

Photo: D’Arcy Norman

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1.An Achuar Apu (chief) in the community of Kuyuntsa on the Manchari river.  The Apus of more than 40 Achuar communities traveled for days by foot and on river to participate in a community assembly to discuss the future of their people.  The red face paint is from the seed of the Achiote tree.  Each Achuar man uses a unique collection of designs which vary for a day spent in a meeting, or a day spent hunting, or in days gone by, for war.

2.A gift of Patarashca (freshly caught fish wrapped in banana leaves) offered by a Kandoshi woman after we stopped on the banks of the river to give her son a ride to the nearest village. The Kandoshi live downriver from the Achuar on the Huitoyaco and Pastaza Rivers.

3.A woman collects fresh water at dawn in the Kandoshi community of Pifayal where we spent the night on the way to the Achuar meeting in Kuyuntsa. We were greeted by the entire village and enjoyed a hearty meal of huangana (wild boar) and patarashca.  In the early morning we departed for Kuyuntsa.

4.An Achuar woman prepares a chicken for dinner in the community of Limon Cocha, the first Achuar community on the Huitoyaco River.

5.The Achuar meeting was held in Kuyuntsa on the Manchari River. The river was so low we had to hike there for several hours from the Huitoyaco.

6.A huge Achuar house in Kuyuntsa village.  Here, a father will live together with his daughters and their families under one roof. Only the most respected elder Achuar men can count on the support of the village needed to weave thousands of palm fronds into a roof of this size.

7.Before dawn, the day of the meeting. The Achuar rise to drink wayusa, exchange stories and discuss plans for the day before purging their bodies of aches and pains from the previous day’s work by vomiting. Wayusa is a sweet tea made from infusing the leaves of the Wayusa plant grown in Achuar gardens.

8.A treacherous walk down a slippery river bank in the morning to bathe.  Here a boy returns from a fishing trip.

9.Carrying firewood to prepare lunch for the community.  Achuar Apus (chiefs) have traveled from all over Achuar territory to attend the meeting and they will need to be well fed.

10.Any Achuar meeting is preceded by drinking vast quantities of masato served by all the women of the village.

11.Masato is made by boiling and mashing manioc, then chewing and spitting the thick paste to encourage fermentation. The result is watered down to create a weak “manioc beer” which any visitor is expected to drink.

12.The Achuar were meeting to decide how to respond to the government’s creation of an oil concession over their ancestral territory (Lote 64) and exploratory drilling in ancient hunting grounds by Canadian oil company Talisman Energy.

13.An Achuar war dance ceremony: The Achuar inaugurate the meeting with a traditional war dance and “interview”, where the visitors speak with the hosts in a ritualized, rythmic speech justifying their reasons for coming.

14.The war dance is a ritualized dance and confrontation from times gone by when the Achuar lived in constant warfare. Today the Achuar are united and peaceful, but they complain that the oil company Talisman is provoking division and violence amongst the Achuar.

15.The trail back to the Huitoyaco River, the first leg on the three-day trip back to Lima, by boat, road and plane. The Achuar live in the remote rainforest in Northern Peru near the border with Ecuador.  Their villages are connected by an incredibly elaborate network of jungle trails.

16.Departing Achuar terriitory, a peaceful sunset on the Huitoyaco river.

1. A large crowd faces the concert stage set up at Plaza Congreso to listen to Kevin Johansen.

2.Kevin Johansen plays “Daisy” (a song about a transvestite) while Liniers’ real-time drawing is projected on the screen in the background.

3.The crowd enthusiastically enjoys the concert in front of Congreso.

4.The Sign-Language interpreter takes a break and warms her hands in her coat pockets.

5.The crowd goes wild as Kevin Johansen cracks a joke.

6. One member of the crowd calls out the Church for un-Christian behavior because of their lack of support for Gay Marriage: “Satan, Satan, take off your vestments”.

7. The sound technicians monitor the concert in front of Congreso as the crown surrounds them and enjoys their hard work.

8.A single stick figure drawing of a same-sex couple in love conveys the message of the night.

9.A sign decorated with balloons reads: “The Same Love – The Same Rights with the Same Name”.

10.The “Partido Socialista” shows its support of Gay Marriage. An American Republican’s worst nightmare – Gay Socialists!

11.Kevin Johansen and Liniers perform on stage.

12.A sign plastered on the streets of Buenos Aires declares “Love is not a heterosexual privilege” using a cute play on words.

1. While generations have lived in the homes in the pueblo, many houses have been updated to include modern necessities such as screen doors. However, other conditions are still similar to the conditions of their ancestors — no electricity, no running water. Daily tours are provided by the Acoma tribal welcome center.

2. A traditional kiva at the Acoma Pueblo. A kiva is a subterranean room used for spiritual ceremonies by Native American pueblo communities. Very little is known about the rituals or activities that take place in a kiva.

3. This year was the first time the Gathering of Nations was held outdoors in the University of New Mexico Lobos’ football stadium. The event, attended by over 100,000 people over three days, included a separate Indian Traders Market tent, a music stage and an Obama administration contingent that brought a video message from the President.

4. Members of the Pollen Trail Dancers, a Diné children’s dance group, perform at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM. In addition to year-round dance performances, the Center also curates a museum of pueblo history, local artists’ exhibitions, a gift shop, and a cafe with native pueblo food.

5. Members of the Pollen Trail Dancers, a Diné children’s dance group, perform at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM.

6. Gathering of Nations Powwow, 2010

7. Gathering of Nations Powwow, 2010

8. Cuicani in Xochitl at Sacred Springs Powwow in San Marcos, TX.

9. Cuicani in Xochitl at Sacred Springs Powwow in San Marcos, TX.

10. A dancer waiting for his call to the dance circle. Gathering of Nations worked to promote the cultures and traditions of American Indian people for the last 26 years.

11. Elder dancer of Cuicani in Xochitl performing at Sacred Springs Powwow in San Marcos, TX. Known for their energy and frenetic music, this dancer is in his 60’s.

12. Cuicani in Xochitl at Sacred Springs Powwow in San Marcos, TX.

13. Dancers overlooking the powwow field at Gathering of Nations.

14. A dancer lining up for grand entry at the Gathering of Nations Powwow, 2010

15. Two child dancers walking into the dance circle for competition performance at the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow, April 25 2010.

16. Three male dancers awaiting grand entry to the dance circle at the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow, where roughly 3,000 American Indians from 700 tribes in the U.S. and Canada gather for a cultural celebration.

1. A young Ladakhi school girl crosses her heart during a speech about freedom for Tibet.

2. Protest banner in Dharamsala.

3. Posters of His Holiness The Dalai Lama.

4. A monk waves a flag during the protest march.

5. An elderly Tibetan woman during the protest march.

6. A man dressed as a Chinese solider demonstrates the treatment of Tibetan monks held in captivity.

7. A young monk cries over the fallen body of his sister during the protest rally at the Polo grounds in Leh.

8. A crying novice monk.

9. School kids join together while singing a Tibetan song.

10. Protesters march through the streets Leh.

11. An elderly Tibetan woman.

12. A patron at a local horse festival.

13. A young monk in training reads through a Tibetan prayer book.

1. Some of the red shirt protesters in Bangkok.

2. The protestors’ main target, current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, was born in the UK and educated at Eton and Oxford.

3.A red balloon floats over a portrait of Queen Sirikit.

4.Central Bangkok’s Democracy Monument draped in red cloth.

5.Protesting is hard work.

1. The coast-to-coast trip begins in Virginia.

2. The team riding for MS. There are approximately 400,000 people in the US with multiple sclerosis (MS) – with 200 more people diagnosed every week. MS is estimated to affect more than 2.5 million people worldwide.

3. The bikers average 70 miles a day, burning thousands of calories. Energy bars and water= survival.

4. The team camps outside or stays with whoever will host them.

5. Team member stops at Logan Pass.

6. Camaraderie is inevitable after two months together.

7. Connecting with locals.The team also performs service projects for MS patients, like building ramps and raking leaves.

8. Hitting another state-Wyoming.

9. Riding. Riding. Riding.

10. Part of the team posing at the Grand Tetons.

11. Breaking for North Cascades National Park.

12. On the road again.

13. Stopping for a break.

14. Going through Washington Pass.

15. The team finishes in Oregon, 2009.

16. The Bike the US team, 2009.

1. The Epicocity team: The Teotônio rapids on the Madeira, have claimed many rafters, including many of Teddy Roosevelt’s team, who first took to the rapids in 1914.

2. Scoping the scene: Roosevelt wrote about the monster fish he found in the rapids. Today, giant white-fish are just one of the varieties of fish and mammals in the 300-mile stretch of river.

3. Extreme off-roading: Modern equipment helped make the expedition successful.

4. Gearing up: The team also had an advantage over previous expeditions because of badass paddlers like Trip Jennings and Andy Maser.

5. Fierce rapids: This is only the fourth team to ever attempt passage of the remote Rio Roosevelt, nearly inaccessible because of the location and gnarly whitewater.

6. No more fishing: The proposed dam will turn the whitewater into a reservoir. Because passage will be blocked, the native fish will become extinct and local fishing communities will deteriorate.

7. Giant white-fish: The team with a catch.

8. Calmer waters: The team only had to make one 4-hour portage, as opposed to Roosevelt’s team, which lost most of their team in frequent portages.

9. Not just the fish will die: The Amazon’s entire ecosystem will collapse if damning, forestation, and mining aren’t stopped.

10. Connect: You can find out more about the team’s adventures on their blog and twitter feed. The Epicocity Project is next headed to Laos.

1. A boy in Cite Soleil on the edge of Port-au-Prince.

2. A kid stands in a court next to a school that used to be one of Duvalier’s most feared prisons.

3. Women sellers in a market in Port-au-Prince.

4. A girl rides in a school bus in Port-au-Prince.

5. Kid with amazing hair in Cite Soleil slum.

6.Two girls holding hands in Cite Soleil.

7. Kids in Cite Soleil.

8. In many parts of Port-au-Prince, there’s no electricity or safety at night.

9. The Cite Soleil slum is a nightmarish landscape.

10.A busy marketplace in Port-au-Prince becomes deserted as night falls.

11. All over Port-au-Prince, the only sources of light are bonfires.

12. At night, people become spectral.

13. The Cite Soleil slum is an apocypltic scene.

14.UN soldiers and a bicycle rider in Port-au-Prince.

15. Kids from Cite Soleil show off their toy robot.