Share

9.1 (Spring 1985) Parks and People

Wildlife and the Maasai

The Story of East African Parks

Since the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, there has been a growing movement among conservationists to designate large parcels of the earth as national parks or reserves. Concern over the disappearance of landscapes and wildlife fuels this worldwide movement. With thousands of endangered species listed in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red Data Book, there is good reason to call for the protection of such creatures as the Bengal tiger or the Black rhino.

Where Whitemen Come to Play

National Parks & Native Peoples in the Canadian North

This year Canada is celebrating the National Park Centennial. While Parks Canada, the agency in charge of national parks, should be commended for its work to date, attention should also be focused on several issues related to the Canadian National Parks system.

Several national parks already exist in the north. More are planned, but much of the land being proposed for parks is already claimed by aboriginal peoples.

The Lurs of Iran

The Lur or Lor are an Iranian people living mainly in southwest and south Iran. Their exact population is not known, but they number over two million. The territories occupied by Lurs include three provinces: Luristan (the land of Lors), Bakhtiari and Kuh-Gilu-Boir Ahmed. In addition, Lurs constitute a significant proportion of the population in several provinces including Khuzistan, Fars, Ilam, Hamadan and Bushehr.

Language

Most Lurs speak an Iranian dialect known as Luri; however, nearly half the Lurs of Luristan province speak Laki, another Iranian dialect.

Protected Areas and Indigenous Peoples

Different classifications which restrict access to areas are significant influences on the present & future condition of many indigenous peoples

The relationship between parks and people seems clearcut.

Foragers on the Move

San survival strategies in Botswana parks and reserves

The establishment of national parks and reserves has been recommended as a major strategy for ensuring the survival of indigenous peoples and the maintenance of their cultural identity. Some view the setting up of reserves as a means of preserving traditional lifestyles and facilitating adaptation to change at a pace set by native people themselves. In some cases, indigenous peoples are able to benefit economically from their statue as reserve residents through the sale of goods or income generated from tourism.

Ethiopian Jews in Israel

Ethiopian Jews in Israel now number approximately 13,000 - over half of their surviving population. Their immigration is a difficult challenge for Israel.

Israeli government officials are trying to avoid the mistakes they made with the Moroccan and Yemenite Jewish immigrants of the 1950s, whose cultural heritage, identity and values were pushed aside by pressure to adapt to Ashkenasi culture.

Betelnut and Bureaucrats

A case study in Development of Cultural Resources by Local Peoples on Yap

Yap is one of many specks of rock and coral making up the Western Caroline Islands of Micronesia. Nine degrees north of the equator, 1,020 kilometers southwest of Guam, with a land area of only 95 km², Yap is actually four major and six minor islands fringed by a reef. Most of the land area is hilly and thickly grown with breadfruit, banyan, mango, Tahitian chestnut, betelnut, citrus and coconut.

The Institute For New Economics

P>We are interested in making contact with native organizations involved in either of the following areas: (1) preservation of important cultural and environmental sites against outside industrial forces and; (2) the development of alternative economic strategies for native community self-reliance, especially strategies that utilize the resource base in an environmentally-sound and culturally-reinforcing manner.

The First World Conference on Cultural Parks

More than 150 delegates in the first World Conference on Cultural Parks met at Mesa Verde National Park from Sept.

The Final Word

What's in an image? Given the money that foreign embassies invest in public relations in the United States, it would seem that much is lost or gained depending on one's image. PR investment is well distributed - to embassy personnel who must present an appropriate image of their country in the US, to firms that are hired to lobby for the employing government, to research institutes which have been established to provide "impartial" interpretations of present global conditions and recent historical events.

Syndicate content

Cultural Survival helps Indigenous Peoples around the world defend their lands, languages, and cultures as they deal with issues like the one you’ve just read about.

Learn More

To read about Cultural Survival’s work around the world, click here. To read more articles on the subject use our Search function and explore 40 years of information
on Indigenous issues.

Do More

For ways to take action to help Indigenous communities, click here.

Donate

We take on governments and multinational corporations—and they always have more resources than we do—but with the help of people like you, we do win. Your contribution is crucial to that effort. Click here to do your part.