A Year In Review & Gratitude For YOU

Marilyn O'MalleyAfrica, Bhutan, MButi, Monpas, Namibia, Newsletter, Peru, San Bushman, Shipbo, Travel with TTFLeave a Comment

We are very grateful to you for your generosity which has enabled the Tribal Trust Foundation (TTF) to carry out its mission to preserve and safeguard Indigenous cultures in an ever-changing world. During the last year, with your support, TTF has made significant progress on important projects and collaborations around the world. Please read about these projects below and take pride in knowing your personal support helped make them possible.
The Shipibo-Konibo people of Peru have traditionally lived along the Ucayali River, a large tributary of the Amazon. Their ancient culture will be gone forever if not passed down to future generations. Currently, Indigenous children are at risk of losing their ancient traditions due to Western influence and living in an urban environment.  Working with Bari Wesna, our Peruvian nonprofit partner, TTF is helping to strengthen and preserve Shipibo Indigenous traditions by teaching essential components of Shipibo-Konibo culture, including: making fishing instruments, teaching the native language through song, and learning about medicinal plants and healing.

To learn more and to donate, please click here.

Within Bhutan, the Monpa people are considered the country’s first inhabitants. For thousands of years, the Monpa have lived in remote forests and mountains, isolated from the Bhutanese.  In 1974, Bhutan opened its isolated country to foreigners and in 2014, TTF became the first organization to support their cultural preservation.  Since then, we have built strong relationships and collaborations to carry out these projects. Through our partnership with the Tarayana Foundation, TTF has recorded the Monpa native language and stories, and documented the traditional knowledge and skills of a natural healer. With funding from Lush Cosmetics, Inc., TTF volunteers partnered with the Tarayana Foundation to research, write, and publish the book, Monpa Medicinal Plants-Indigenous Knowledge from a Himalayan Healer. This beautiful book was illustrated by TTF Board member, Holly Sherwin and authored by TTF’s Director of International Education and Research, Dr. Dawn Murray. Most recently, it was distributed to the Monpa to help safeguard and preserve their Indigenous knowledge.

To learn more and donate, please click here.
For several years, TTF has supported the San Bushmen living in Nhoma, a remote village in the Kalahari Desert of Namibia. Recently they asked TTF to provide a school in their village to pass on their Indigenous knowledge for healing and survival. Their solution is to create a pioneering Indigenous-led educational model where Indigenous and Western knowledge systems collaborate for nature and cultural preservation. The remote school in their village is designed for San children to learn about their Indigenous traditions. At the same time, these youth will acquire foundational academic concepts in their own language from a teacher that understands and respects their culture. International conservation researchers will learn alongside San children in a shared intention to learn from San elders before it’s too late.

This pilot program includes participation by anthropologists, researchers, and educators to evaluate the Indigenous-led curriculum. TTF is coordinating funding from individuals, foundations, and our many stakeholders including Kalahari Peoples Fund. Thus far, we have raised funding for the construction of an adobe-style school building, which is now in progress.
For centuries, the Mbuti Pygmies of the Ituri Forest have lived sustainably as nomadic hunter-gatherers in the world’s second largest rainforest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Their Indigenous traditions and spirituality have enabled them to adapt within their forest habitat. During the last decade, the Mbuti struggle to survive has been made almost impossible due to armed militia stalking them, illegal gold and diamond mines operating with near impunity, deforestation, and animal poaching of rare okapi and dwarf elephants. To help save the remaining Mbuti and bring international awareness of their plight, TTF organized an art exhibition and produced the award-winning video, Mbuti: Children of the Forest. This video is the Mbuti message and plea to the world in their own voices. Photographs and documentary footage were taken at the Okapi Wildlife Reserve by Molly Feltner and became the centerpiece of the exhibition. These powerful images, along with traditional artifacts used by the Mbuti in their daily lives offer a window into the Mbuti symbiotic relationship with the rainforest. This year, selected photographs and Mbuti art from the original exhibition were included in the Southampton Arts Center’s A Celebration of Trees.  In addition, the original exhibit was showcased at the Anneliese School in Laguna Beach, California with a presentation by Barbara Savage.

To learn more and support the Mbuti, please click here.
We are very appreciative of your continued support of the Tribal Trust Foundation. A special thanks to those who traveled to Bhutan with the Tribal Trust in November.

Wishing you peace and joy this season and in the coming new year!

Barbara


Barbara Savage
Founder & Executive Director
Tribal Trust Foundation
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The Tribal Trust Foundation is located in the unceded homelands of the Chumash People and the Seminole Tribe of Florida. By recognizing these communities, we attempt to honor their legacies, their lives, and descendants. To learn more about the Indigenous People’s land on which your home or work sits, visit: native-land.ca

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