Stories about Indigenous from August, 2007
Trinidad & Tobago: The Caribs
The CAC Review finds “noteworthy” a news story about the indigenous Caribs in Trinidad and Tobago in the context of the work of a government-appointed Amerindian Projects Committee.
Brazil: Gunshots along the border
Altino Machado reports a radio call [PT] from José Meirelles, who coordinates an Etno-Environmental Protection Front at the Brazil-Peru border on Acre state, deep in the Amazon Forest. He tells about gunshots that fortunately missed 2 workers on a canoe yesterday, in an event that can be linked with the...
Mongolia: Kazakh eagle hunters
American filmmaker Joseph Spaid tells readers about his film Kiran over Mongolia over at neweurasia. The documentary portrays a young Mongolized Kazakh youth from the urban capital who is taken into an apprenticeship by a true Kazakh eagle master.
Kuwait: Crazy Week for Bloggers
Kuwaiti bloggers had a crazy week, which started with an earthquake, or rather a small tremor, early on Saturday morning. The next day a blogger was arrested for a comment an anonymous reader left on his online forum. The week culminated with a fire at a local hospital and the resignation of Kuwait's first female minister.
Trinidad & Tobago: Santa Rosa Festival
The CAC Review notes that Trinidad's Carib community yesterday celebrated the high mass of the annual Santa Rosa Festival, with a procession through the streets of Arima.
Indians blog to defend against illegal logging along the Brazil-Peru Frontier
The Ashaninkas are the largest indigenous group in the Peruvian Amazon and differently from the majority of the South American original dwellers, their cultural identity is greatly preserved. Apart from being among the native nations of the continent connected with the traditional use of Ayahuasca, the Ashaninkas are specially known...
Bahrain: Thoughts on Sectarianism
Bahraini blogger emoodz shares with us this thoughts on sectarianism in this post I am translating from Arabic today. From a discussion over lunch, Mohammed Al Maskati discusses sectarianism and its impact on society, ending his treatise with a question with no answer: Will we Arabs ever wake up?
Caribbean: Indigenous Percentage
“I would hate to be a 12 percent American Indian in a debate about indigenous issues with a 13 percent American Indian,” writes Maximilian C. Forte of The CAC Review, as he tackles the issue of DNA testing to determine indigenous cultural identity.
Bolivia: National Pride During Military Parade
Beverly Centellas of Mom's Blog reflects on the controversial military parade in Santa Cruz, which demonstrated that Bolivia “sure understands the word ‘respect’ when it comes to their flag and their nation, even in the midst of national crisis and disaccord.”
Barbados: Heritage Tourism
Living in Barbados thinks that heritage tourism is a good alternative to sun, sea and sand.
Taiwan: Thao Indigenous People
Esouth has a series of posts on the Thao indigenous people in Taiwan. There are 500 people left in Taiwan, less than 50 families. Because of the development of tourism, their distinctive culture is vanishing (zh). Here is a chronology of development projects since 1932 that ruined their living space...
Bolivia: Wishes and Relief on Independence Day
August 6th marked Bolivia's Independence Day and also marked a time for Bolivian bloggers to reflect on the current state of their country. Many recognize that the nation still has a long way to go, but others paint a picture of a country that they would like to see.
Central Asia: Cultural intelligence
Nathan Hamm shares his thoughts on a New York Times article which argues that while knowledge of the nomadic social legacies of the Central Asian countries is important, an overemphasis on “cultural intelligence” can lead to misguided and stereotypical policy analysis of the region.
Syria: Lebanese Border and Toilet Etiquette
Yazan Badran takes us on a tour of Syrian blogs where bloggers are discussing the worsening of conditions of Syrian workers and families at the Lebanese-Syrian border, calls for the return of the Golan Heights occupied by Israel to Syria, the Czech machine gun and toilet etiquette.
Bolivia: Peaceful Parades in Santa Cruz
José Andrés Sánchez of El pais de las maravillas [ES] was moved to see the absence of any confrontation between residents of Santa Cruz and members of indigenous groups that marched in the military parade. This was contrary to the predictions of conflict during Bolivian Independence Day festivities.
Barbados, Bahamas: Crop Over & Junkanoo
Kadooment Day signals the end of the Crop Over festivities – Living in Barbados explains, offering interesting comparisons to the Bahamas’ Junkanoo festival.
Kyrgyzstan: Adoption
Kyrgyz blogger Mirsulzhan Namazaliev received an email of a woman who recently adopted a baby from the mountaineous Central Asian nation. She asks about cultural traditions and why the mother gave up her little baby daughter.
Lebanon: Elections, Socio-political Theories, Relief and Blogging
The Lebanese government decided to hold by–elections on August 5. These elections are to fill the parliamentary seats that became vacant due to the assassinations of the past months. Other topics also discussed this week include: the Lebanese middle–class, Lebanese architecture, language and social consciousness, and why dictatorship may be the best solution for Lebanon. In addition to these, there are posts about activities taking place during summer, the border town of Ayta Shaab a year after the July war and about blogging and netizens as well as aid given to the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
Puerto Rico, Jamaica: History of Slaves
The Voice of the Taino People Online reports on the findings of a Caribbean archaeological conference, which suggest that many slaves were wealthy during slavery: “Their wealth came not from handouts from planters but from their work in the grounds, their trading and their farms in the hills.”
Bolivia: Indigenous Organization Breaks Ties
Miguel Centellas of *Pronto takes a look at MAS and its fractured coalition, now that one powerful indigenous group has officially broken ties.
