Author: Bruce Bonta
Tristan Islanders Preserve Ocean Life
The Tristan Islanders, with the cooperation of colonial officials in the U.K., have set aside as a protected zone a vast swath of ocean waters around their islands to provide permanent protection for the unique species of birds and marine life that enrich this area of the South Atlantic Ocean. According to a thorough magazine […]
The Paliyans Cherish Voting
The Paliyans are proud to vote in elections according to a news story posted in this website nearly seven years ago. It appears from a report in The Hindu on April 6 as if they are still just as committed to voting. A Paliyan community near Shenbagathoppu asked officials to establish a voting place for […]
Tourists at Tsomgo Lake
The Lepchas living in villages near the massively popular tourist destination Tsomgo Lake in Sikkim were included in a news story on March 30 along with their neighbors the Bhutias and the Sherpas. The article, published on Mongabay.com, the prestigious international nature and environmental news website, described the local initiatives to protect the lake environment […]
Encouraging Birhor Children to Speak Their Language
Livemint.com, an Indian news website, published an article on March 19 about a new children’s dictionary of the Birhor language. The news story indicated that the dictionary is designed to increase the appeal of the language for their children so they will want to continue using it when they become adults. Titled Abun Ari Re […]
Malapandaram Featured by the Indian Press
In the middle of March, two major Indian newspapers published articles about the Malapandaram of Kerala. The New Indian Express published an analysis of the conditions in some colonies near Sabarimala on March 9 and the Times of India weighed in covering mostly the same people and colonies on March 12. This peaceful society is […]
Vaccinating the Orang Asli
Around the world, people are asking good questions about the different vaccines that are now available for preventing COVID-19—whether to get vaccinated, how and where to get the shots, and so on. The Orang Asli of Malaysia are as confused as many others so the popular Malaysian news website Free Malaysia Today on March 7 […]
Discrimination against Nubians in Kenya
Many of the news stories about the Nubians focus on the discrimination they face in Egypt and to some extent in Sudan. Two news reports published in Kenya on February 24 and 25 describe the deplorable conditions that the Nubians living in that country have to contend with. A story in Kenya’s Ghetto Radio on […]
Ladakhis Protect Wildlife
A Ladakhi man who made one of his life goals protecting wildlife in the Hemis National Park told his story in a blog post on February 21. He and his co-villagers in the mountains of Ladakh decided that increasing the numbers of wildlife would promote tourism and provide economic benefits to the local economy, as […]
The Zapotec Overcome the Pandemic
Jeffrey Cohen, an anthropology professor at the Ohio State University, updated in a published article on February 12 an earlier blog post describing the ways the Zapotec have been coping with the pandemic. That post was summarized here on August 21, 2020. His update further amplifies his observations of last year. Cohen observes that when […]
Yanadi Engage in Mariculture
The Yanadi of coastal Andhra Pradesh are increasingly dependent for their income on fish raised in cages along the Krishna River estuary. A brief report in The Hindu on February 8 described the actions by agencies and scientists involved in fostering this novel way for the poor, landless people to secure a better living. Raising […]
