The First Monpa Day Festival Dec. 10, 2019 by Dawn Alexandra Murray, M.S., Ph.D. We arrived in a small van around 4:30 pm up the windy, forested dirt road the afternoon before the festival. A decorated and painted yellow arch with the seven lucky symbols was gracing the roadway, eleven young boys in ghos and plastic slip-on shoes still laying … Read More
Getting to Know the Monpa People of Bhutan
Within Bhutan, a small Kingdom in the Himalayas, hidden away in the deep forest and high mountains, live the Monpa, the indigenous people considered the country’s first inhabitants. The Monpa asked the Tribal Trust Foundation (TTF) to help them preserve their ancient culture, which is based on living in harmony with nature and each other. In 2014, we were the … Read More
Partnering with Chief Ju/’hoansi San of the Kalahari Desert
Upon the request of the San people and several NGO, and on behalf of the Tribal Trust Foundation, Barbara Savage traveled to Botswana and Namibia. She interviewed game wardens, lawyers and activists to understand the immediate crisis. Through the power of traditional trance dancing, chief G/a’qo Kaeqce, understood the President of Namibia was intent on genocide of his people. A … Read More
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Welcome to Autumn! We end September having celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Indigenous Peoples Day
The relationship of indigenous and non-indigenous in our country is in deep need of healing right now. We need to act with integrity and sincerity if there is ever going to be any chance of that happening.
Victory for Standing Rock
A federal judge ruled that the federal permits authorizing the pipeline to cross the Missouri River just upstream of the Standing Rock reservation, which were hastily issued by the Trump administration just days after the inauguration, violated the law in certain critical respects.
Awake: A Dream from Standing Rock
WATCH the film: https://awakeadreamfromstandingrock1.vhx.tv/ Awake tells the story of of how, in 2016, tens of thousands of activists travelled from all over to stand in solidarity with the water protectors (activists) protesting the construction of the 3.7 billion dollar Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), which is purposed to transport fracked oil from North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields through sovereign land, under … Read More
Supporting and Documenting the Mbuti of Epulu, Congo
For thousands of years, the Mbuti Pygmies lived sustainably as hunter-gatherers in the world’s second largest rainforest, in what is presently the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Through their ability to change and adapt within their forest habitat, they survived the Congo’s devasting history of war, disease and resource exploitation. But now, as globalization and the demands of contemporary economics, … Read More