treatment by outsiders
Mbuti Cite the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Many citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) believe that having sex with a Mbuti woman can cure a backache, or intercourse with a young Mbuti virgin can heal diseases. These superstitions prompt Congolese men to rape the pygmy women in the Goma area, where many have resettled due to the violence they have […]
Hutterites Contest an Insurance Requirement
The government of Montana took an anti-Hutterite law to the state Supreme court last Wednesday, arguing that its 2009 statute, which forces colony businesses to provide workers compensation, is necessary in order to be fair to non-Hutterite construction firms. A state judge had already decided that the law forcing the Hutterites to pay for workers […]
Compromise Finally Reached with Kentucky Amish
Persecuting the peaceful Amish has not been good for the image of Kentucky, but fortunately, last Wednesday, the state finally resolved the contentious safety triangle issue. Governor Steve Beshear signed a bill that allows the Schwartzentruber Amish to use strips of reflective white or silver tape on their buggies rather than the florescent safety triangles […]
Bhutia Man Killed in Oakland Mass Shooting
One of the seven people killed in the mass shooting at Oikos University in Oakland, California, early last week was a young man from Sikkim named Tshering Rinzing Bhutia. While the Bhutia and the Lepcha people have separate origins in Sikkim, they have similar customs and are often united in trying to preserve their traditions […]
Canadian Indian Residential School System
Recent hearings conducted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada prompted shocking testimony about the horrors of the Canadian residential Indian school system. Numerous individuals stepped forward to report on the rampant sexual abuses by the officials, priests, and clergy who ran the residential schools to which the Inuit and Metis children, as well […]
Kentucky Legislature Crafts Compromise with Amish
Compromising with the Amish, which has long been important in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County, now seems to be taking hold in Kentucky too, where legislators are crafting a law that will respect Amish rights as well as general safety concerns. While most Old Order Amish have no problems with displaying the slow moving vehicle triangles on […]
Semai Incensed by Firearms
Last week, Tok Batin Apong resented the manner of ten Perak State Forestry officials, who had come into his village to discuss the ways the Semai were using land in the Chikus Permanent Forest Reserve. The incident occurred at the Semai settlement in Sungai Manik, near the city of Teluk Intan, in Perak, Malaysia. Mr. […]
Mbuti in a Squalid Refugee Camp
Deodat Mukankusi told a reporter, “we fled our small village in the woods when men carrying weapons invaded it.” She and about 800 other Mbuti have been forced by the seemingly endless fighting in their original home, the Ituri Forest, to migrate to a refugee camp at Kanyaruchinya, south of Goma, in South Kivu Province […]
Amish Attacked in New York and Welcomed in Maine
Such contrasts. According to news reports last week, aggressive vandals have been attacking an Amish community in Troupsburg, N.Y., while local residents in Fort Fairfield, Maine have been enthusiastically welcoming recent Amish immigrants. Sheriff Joel Ordway of Steuben County, N.Y., indicates that the crime spree, which began last month, has included an attempted arson. So […]
Woman Jailed for Remark about Botswana
A woman’s casual complimentary remark, comparing the features of the president of Botswana to the Bushmen, recently landed her in jail for two days. Dorsey Dube, a South African woman, had been visiting Botswana with three friends, but just before they crossed back into their own country, she noticed a framed picture of President Ian […]
