Visiting the First Nations people of Japan the Ainu is always a part of my annual Hokkaido Photo workshop tour.  (99.999% of Japanese do not know of the Kofun Ainu wars, in which the Ainu were eliminated or enslaved, and they The First Nations Peoples of Japan migrated north to survive, in today what is called Hokkaido.)
The Ainu of Hokkaido, have struggled since the 15th century to preserve their lands and national identity.  Unfortunately, when the Japanese government officially incorporated Hokkaido into Japan, non-Ainu Japanese people immigrated to Hokkaido seizing the best plots of land for their farming endeavors, leaving the more rugged and underdeveloped lands for the First Nations people of Japan, the Ainu.  In 1997, Japan’s parliament enacted the Act on the Promotion of Ainu Culture and Dissemination and Enlightenment of Knowledge About Ainu Tradition which was a first step In recognizing Ainu autonomy and preserving their remaining cultural traditions.  Later in 2007, the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a declaration that Japan also endorsed.  And by doing so, they tacitly agreed to further the scope of the rights that their indigenous people the Ainu were entitled to.  More than half a millennium after their initial oppression, during 2019, the Japanese parliament passed the Ainu Promotion Act which formally recognizes the Ainu as both the indigenous people of Japan, as well as acknowledging the importance of their diversity and contribution to Japan’s society as a whole.  Most importantly, the Ainu Promotion Act means the government must adopt measures to ban discrimination against the Ainu, and let them live a humane life in peace without prejudice.  Finally, Ainu works of art and cultural intangibles such as their traditional dances are being preserved, going so far as allowing them to pursue trademarks for their traditions and cultural practices.  While leading my annual Hokkaido photography workshop, I will introduce you to my Ainu friends and their culture, in the Akan volcanic complex region, a repository of Ainu culture and craftsmanship.  There you can witness the ancient  lomante fire festival in the Ainu tradition.  The rarity and exclusivity of this experience makes this a once in a lifetime opportunity.  While witnessing the performance, you will see the distinct link between the natural world and the dancers and singers performance as they imitate the motions and intimations of the hunt and commune with nature an important element of Ainu culture and tradition.