Tag archives for indigenous people
Posted by While traveling with Cheetah Conservation Botswana, I had the rare experience to meet the Nai Nai San Bushmen of the Central Kalahari. The name Nai Nai translates directly as “people of the bush” thus they consider themselves to be the true bushmen. This small family group is one of many who travel through the area…
Posted by His name means “Hawk” in his language. Yet even with the acuity of vision the moniker suggests, Karapiru could not have foreseen thetragedy that befell his people, the Awá tribe of northeastern Brazil. He could never have imagined the day that he would flee for his life far into the rainforest, a shotgun pellet burning…
Posted by By Kirsty Galloway McLean Widespread heatwaves. Spiking temperatures. Uncontrollable wildfires. Unforeseen floods. Oppressive droughts. These kinds of extreme events are becoming the norm and, according to a growing body of scientific literature, are obvious signs of ongoing climate change. This literature includes the “State of the Climate in 2011” report released by the United States’ National…
By Kirsty Galloway McLean For indigenous peoples, resilience is rooted in traditional knowledge, as their capacity to adapt to environmental change is based first and foremost on in-depth understanding of the land. As climate change increasingly impacts indigenous landscapes, communities are responding and adapting in unique ways. In a recent statement to the Conference of…
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The International Society of Ethnobiology (ISE) made news at the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development this summer. Introduced to almost 700 governments, businesses, civil society groups, and universities was the “Montpellier Statement,” delivered by Helene Mandrous, the Mayor of Montpellier, France. The statement was developed at ISE’s 13th Biannual Congress held earlier this…
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If built, the Belo Monte dam in northern Brazil will be the third largest in the world.
But that is a big “if.” The Brazilian courts have suspended the $17-billion project once again, saying indigenous people whose lives would be affected by the enormous hydroelectric operation were not properly consulted.
We live in a beautiful world. For generations, tribal peoples have been the guardians of their diverse habitats - tundra, sea-ice, mountains, deserts, oceans and prairies; for most, land and life are inextricably linked. Earth is the bedrock of their lives, the provider of food and shelter, the sacred burial ground of their ancestors and…
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An indigenous caravan is bringing to the Rio+20 conference the philosophy of “buen vivir” – “living well” in harmony with nature – as a solution to the world’s environmental and economic crises. Indigenous leaders from all over South America are making their way by foot, canoe and eventually on buses to be part of…
Posted by Donny Preston, a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, gave a traditional blessing at the opening of the BioBlitz today. In this video interview, he talks about the special spirituality of a place many Native Americans think is near the center of the universe.
Peru Releases Dramatic Footage of Uncontacted Indians
Posted by Scott Wallace on October 18, 2011 
The Peruvian government has released dramatic new footage showing a near-encounter with a group of uncontacted Indians along a riverbank in the Amazon rain forest. The video was taken by travelers on the Manu River in southeastern Peru in recent months, according to officials from Peru’s Ministry of the Environment, who released the images on…
Indigenous People Sound the Alarm on Climate Change
Posted by Brian Clark Howard of National Geographic in Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples on October 11, 2011 
The air in the auditorium smelled faintly of burnt herbs. Josefina Lema Aguilar, a Kichwa elder from the mountains of Ecuador, lit a tiny sacred fire to bless last week’s conference on “Seeking Balance: Indigenous Knowledge, Western Science and Climate Change.” Dressed in traditional garb from the Andes, Aguilar gave the event’s opening prayer at…
LOGGERS AND NATIVES FACE OFF IN THE BORDERLANDS
Posted by Scott Wallace on September 12, 2011 Lumberjack invasion spurs cross-border contact between native villages In a sign of growing indigenous activism and impatience with ineffectual bureaucrats, communities in Peru and Brazil have joined forces in recent days to patrol a volatile border region rife with illegal loggers and heavily armed gangs of drug-runners. Earlier this month, a joint patrol of Ashéninka…
Dark Edge of the Frontier
Posted by Scott Wallace on August 25, 2011 Natives face retaliation when they stand up to those who loot the forest While on assignment for National Geographic in Peru this summer, I had the privilege of visiting the Ashéninka indigenous community of Saweto, at the headwaters of the Alto Tamaya River near the border of Brazil. It can take up to eight grueling…
An Honor of “Titanic” Proportions
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on June 23, 2011 
Two outstanding explorers — filmmaker and alternative-energy proponent James Cameron and marine ecologist Enric Sala — are the National Geographic Society’s newest Explorers-in-Residence. Both were honored today at a special gathering of National Geographic’s top explorers at Society headquarters. Explorers-in-Residence are some of the world’s preeminent explorers and scientists and represent a broad range of…
Fisticuffs Erupts in Peru Over Uncontacted Tribes
Posted by Scott Wallace on June 6, 2011 Officials deny plans to open rain forest reserves, promise new protections
A report released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has warned that at least 34 Colombian tribes face extinction due to continuing violence on their lands, Survival International said this week. The report found that, “In spite of new efforts by the state…the risk of physical or cultural disappearance remains, and in some…
