Photographer Daniil Demkin is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this documentary photography. From the project ‘Uilta the last nomad people of Sakhalin’. To see Daniil’s body of work, click on any image.

Uilta (also known as Oroki) are one of the smallest ethnic groups of Russia, and the most unexplored.
Their language is disappearing, as the current population of Uilta is no more than 300 people, all of them living in Sakhalin, most in Val settlement. According to the «Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger» 62 people know the native language. My research however indicates the true number is probably less than 10. About 10 Uilta continue to do traditional activity like tundra reindeer breeding. Their origins and language is unknown.
Negative effects such as the beginning of land development by Russia; the occupation of the Japanese; the industrial revolution in USSR, and the withdrawal of land by owners of oil wells changed their culture and their lifestyle. However, despite these challenges not all of Uilta lost interest in their history; their culture and their language.
I would like to consider the life of these mysterious people through my project, and see how these people try to save their uniqueness in modern life.