An Imagined Monograph for Nongqawuse
A 19th-century prophetess reportedly bore a serious message from the ancestors to her Xhosa people amid British colonial assault. The written archives judged her—but much still remains unknown…
A 19th-century prophetess reportedly bore a serious message from the ancestors to her Xhosa people amid British colonial assault. The written archives judged her—but much still remains unknown…
At Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, a new co-management plan brings together federal agencies and a consortium of Native American tribes—revealing deep tensions over land rights and…
Intending to be in good relations is great, but it isn’t enough. This post outlines some key infrastructure that directly deal with the uneven power relations and legacies…
Co-authored by my friend from the village, Felix Mangombe, our new article has just been published in the journal People and Nature after quite full on period of…
The proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, along California’s Central Coast, would be the first of its kind in the U.S. to be nominated by Native peoples. ✽…
When producers for a popular Netflix series sought a permit to film on public lands in the U.S. Southwest, many Native leaders objected. A Hopi tribal official, Stewart…
In a dystopian short story, an anthropologist imagines an alternate world in which Kashmiris are forbidden to dream. Republished by permission from English Language Notes, 61(2): 15–18. Copyright…
In a personal essay, a mixed-race and Native anthropologist draws strength from his ancestors. ✽ Who should I be today? I ask myself this question in the mirror…
After a 60-year haitus, an Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna was seen in Indonesia’s Cyclops Mountains. A poet-anthropologist reflects on the echidna’s message through the storied lens of the people…
A biological anthropologist reflects on how scientific research can be used to reaffirm or undermine Indigenous land ties in Argentina. ✽ In the early 1900s, two amateur archaeologists…
That’s right, after six and a half years of toil (and fun) spread between a rainforest in Cameroon and a library and office in London, the thing is…
A Brazilian archaeologist reexamines the way people treat ancestral Indigenous remains housed in museums—starting with one important encounter. Can museums and archaeology harm the dead? An Indigenou…
An anthropologist shares his story of the environmental, sociocultural, and political consequences of a hydropower dam in India for communities living downstream. Discussions about the impacts of da…
A team of researchers will journey by railway to Lac Seul First Nation in Canada to better understand alternative ways of seeing the world. OUTSIDERS PREPARE TO VISIT…
A poet-anthropologist of the Chickasaw Nation honors infant remains historically used in teaching collections at the University of Illinois. “Infant, Name Once Known” is part of the collection…
A biological and anthropological researcher explains how humans’ diverse ways of mating might have evolved. ✽ Marrying more than one person constitutes a crime across most of the…
The Mead-Freeman controversy draws to a close, with some answers to who was right and who was wrong. But, in the end, can anyone ever really understand cultures…
Anthropologist Derek Freeman became Margaret Mead’s biggest critic, trying to undo her research in American Samoa and her reputation as a famed anthropologist. Who was Derek Freeman, and…
In the controversies swirling around Margaret Mead’s work in American Samoa, one set of voices has too often been left out: that of Samoans. Sparked by a provocative…
An anthropologist explains how a South African university used community-driven research to honor human remains acquired unethically. This article was originally published at The Conversation and has…
A tribal scholar from the state of Nagaland in India engages with the loss of traditional cultural practices and locates the creation of a new world order where…
Two Indigenous archaeologists from the U.S. Southwest shed light on how “abandonment” and other common archaeological terms continue to cause harm. They offer insights into how to rewrite…
A scholar from Nagaland in India offers visceral, familial insights on language and culture loss in her Indigenous tribal community. ✽ My poem “Speaking in Tongues” explores the…
Over years and across long distances, an international filmmaking team collaborated to bring to life the origin story of how agriculture came to Kayapó communities, Indigenous peoples in…