Author: Bruce Bonta
An Inspiring Piaroa Leader
Hortimio Ochoa, a 33-year-old Piaroa leader, was featured in a lengthy Venezuelan newspaper article on Wednesday last week for his dedication to preserving the traditional values and culture of his people as well as for his efforts to protect their lands and waters from illegal miners and armed groups. The author of the piece, María […]
Ju/’hoansi Receive Large Grant
The Nyae Nyae Conservancy of the Ju/’hoansi San has received a large grant to help them survive the loss of tourist revenue due to the pandemic. The Save Our Species grant from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), also allocated to the N#a Jaqna Conservancy of the !Kung people, is designed to help […]
Semai Uses of Forest Foods
The Semai have been gathering plants in the forests for generations and have profited from their knowledge of the wild foods, widely referred to as “ulam.” The Star, a leading Malaysian newspaper, published a story last week in which the reporter interviewed Rachel Thomas Tharmabalan, a researcher who specializes in analyzing the edible foods, especially […]
The Buid Educate their Kids
Units of the Philippine armed forces went into a remote Buid village in helicopters on August 16 to provide supplies and support for the villagers, who have no road access to the outside world. The two-day visit to Sitio Mansay, in San Jose’s Monteclaro Barangay, was described in a government publication last week as a […]
Champion of Lepcha Culture Dies
Sonam Tshering Lepcha, a major champion of the Lepcha culture, died at age 92 in Kalimpong on July 30. His death was noted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, and by a range of major Indian news sources. A tribute last week summarized his many accomplishments and […]
The Zapotec Treasure their Traditions
For years, the major research interest of Jeffrey H. Cohen, an anthropology professor at the Ohio State University, has been the culture of the Zapotecs in Mexico’s Oaxaca state. But travel restrictions due to the pandemic prevent his normal summer of fieldwork there, so he published last week a very accessible article to bring his […]
Paliyan Blog Posts
Two posts were published last week on a blog from India that focuses on news about the Adivasi, the traditional tribal societies. Both were written by S. Ramarajan, who was the founder of the blog and is a member of the Paliyan society, the subject of both stories last week. The first post, “The Story […]
Religious Toleration among Ladakhi Muslims
A lot of the reporting about the peacefulness of the Ladakhi has focused on the Leh District of Ladakh, where most of the people are Buddhists. An article in this website in May 2019 examined the scholarship of different experts who examined the reasons for their nonviolence. Uwe Gielen, we reported, argued that the Buddhist […]
COVID-19 Cases Spike in Canadian Hutterite Colonies
Premier Scott Moe of Saskatchewan announced on Wednesday last week that 48 of the 60 new cases of COVID–19 reported that day in the province had occurred in Hutterite colonies. The Canadian media published many news stories about the development. According to a report in Global News, the premier said that his government is “working […]
G/wi Hassled by Botswana Government
Five San men have been arrested by the government of Botswana for hunting in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). The punitive measure violates their rights as enshrined by Botswana law and a High Court ruling, according to a letter by Stephen Corry, the director of the British NGO Survival International, to the president of […]
