The Price of Profits

The Initiative for the Regional Integration of Infrastructure in South America is the latest and largest in a series of bank-financed schemes to bring "development" to the Amazon Basin—and more trouble to the region's indigenous communities.

Standing Up for Burma

A photo essay in this issue of the Cultural Survival Quarterly exposes in graphic detail the horrors that have been imposed on Burma’s indigenous peoples by that country’s military junta and armed forces.

Panama Dam Construction Steps Up the Pace

As we reported in the last issue of Cultural Survival Quarterly, the Ngöbe people of Panama are facing imminent destruction of their homeland as a result of a hydroelectric dam. Since then, things in Panama have become significantly more desperate.

Mongolia Establishes Support Program for Reindeer Herders

After four years of lobbying the Mongolian government to recognize the threats facing the indigenous nomadic Dukha reindeer herders, Cultural Survival’s Totem Project has achieved a significant victory.

Javatrekker

By Dean Cycon Chealsea Green Publishing, 2007 ISBN 1933392703 Reviewed by Cheri Kramer

Isolation

In South America's Gran Chaco, voluntarily isolated indigenous groups are still dodging the rampant development of the region, and with good reason: those that have already come out have found that even greater isolation awaits them.

Guatemala Radio Project Update

The past year has been exceptionally productive for the Guatemala Radio Project, a partnership between Cultural Survival and 168 indigenous community radio stations operating throughout Guatemala. The project educates indigenous Maya about their rights and reinforces local languages, music, and customs, all in their own local languages.

For Indigenous Eyes Only: A Decolonization Handbook

Edited by Waziyatawin Angela Wilson, Michael Yellow Bird, and Angela Cavender Wilson School of American Research Press, 2007 ISBN 1930618638 Reviewed by Ramona Peters

Flights of Fancy: The giant Mayan kites of Guatemala

A dazzling display of color and ingenuity, the giant kite looms above me, a circular construction 57 feet across, secured by tall bamboo stalks and plastic string. To both sides stand other kites, enormous demonstrations of the creativity and skill of their creators, as well as messengers of culture and social protest.

Banished in Burma

Fifty years of civil war under a military junta has left Burma devastated, submerged in human rights abuses, poverty, and instability. An estimated 1 million people are internally displaced and another million have fled across borders. Particularly targeted are indigenous groups, including the Mon, Shan, Karen, and Karenni people.

Australia Apologizes to Aborigines for Stolen Generations

After 12 years of a conservative Australian administration that was markedly hostile to indigenous rights and its own Aboriginal populations, the new labor government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd took a dramatic step by issuing an apology at the opening session of Parliament on February 13. The apology, issued by Rudd himself, was, in fact, the opening item of business for Parliament.

Feasting in Fiji

In Fiji it is customary to welcome anyone, even a foreign stranger, into the home to share a meal. A mat or cloth is placed on the floor of the home and several dishes along with staple foods are placed in the center. Families are usually large, and there are often several guests at a meal.

Against the Odds

In the strongly patriarchal society of the Maasai, it's very hard for a woman to rise above her station, but Mary Simat is no ordinary woman.