Last week we paused publication out of respect for the holiday season. We begin 2026 with a six-part series centered around themes of place, movement, and conflict. These issues demand deeper human-centered context, as displacement, political instability, and environmental pressure increasingly define daily life for millions.
In I Am, Still, Johis Alarcón documents the daily lives of young Indigenous people in Ecuador who are actively shaping a future that is not defined by colonial inheritance, displacement, or erasure. The project focuses on a generation choosing to remain on their ancestral land—living with their families, caring for animals and sustaining traditions—while simultaneously engaging with the modern world.
These young people move fluidly between mountains and mobile phones, between inherited rituals and digital spaces like YouTube and TikTok. Alarcón’s photographs show that these worlds are not in inherent conflict. Instead, they coexist as part of a coherent, evolving identity rooted in land, memory and community.
The project is also deeply personal. As Alarcón began photographing, her own childhood memories resurfaced, the cold mornings, the sound of the river, shared family meals and the physical intimacy of life shaped by the landscape. While those memories have faded for her over time, she finds them fully alive within these communities. What might elsewhere be lost to active cultural suppression, migration, or modernization, is here actively preserved and renewed.
Historically, Indigenous people of Ecuador—approximately 7% of the population—have faced systemic racism, discrimination, and economic pressure that forced many to abandon their homes and cultures for city life. Globalization accelerated this rupture. I Am, Still documents a reversal of that trajectory. Indigenous youth are leading a quiet resistance by staying, defending their land, and reasserting cultural continuity on their own terms.
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About Johis Alarcon
Johanna Alarcón is a freelance photojournalist and visual storyteller based in Ecuador whose work focuses on social justice, human rights, and gender-related issues. She is a National Geographic Explorer and a member of Ayün Fotógrafas, Fluxus Foto, Visura.Co, Fotoféminas, and Women Photograph. Her work has been published by The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Reuters, UN Women, and others, and has been exhibited internationally. Alarcón has received numerous fellowships and awards, including recognition from the Magnum Foundation, World Press Photo, and FotoEvidence. She currently works on assignments, teaching and long-term personal projects.
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