eJournal | “Environmental groups and movements have been at the forefront of efforts to democratize state institutions”

[…] In India, as elsewhere, colonialism is “first, foremost and always” about land. As in North America and Africa, the policing of reserve forests has often resulted in what amounts to ethnic cleansing, with Indigenous peoples being evicted from their homelands for the benefit of the tourism industry and its urban, middle-class clients. Displaced Adivasis … Read more

A living martial art-based dance form: The practice of Firkal in a remote Bhumij tribal village of Chotanagpur – Jharkhand

Firkal is an unusual name for a dance form. Many scholars of Indian dance as well as social anthropologists have not heard of it, far less seen it being performed. […] Older than Kalaripayattu, and even those martial art forms that trace its origins to China and Japan, Firkal is still very much a living … Read more

“A rich oral tradition and music”: Don Bosco Centre for Indigenous Cultures in Shillong – Meghalaya

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS GALLERY Music plays an important role in the life and culture of most people in the North East. “Music is in their blood”, it is often said metaphorically. Most of the tribes of the region have a rich oral tradition and music is one way through which knowledge and folktales are transmitted through … Read more

Celebrating health, peace and prosperity among the Monpa community of Tawang: The Losar festival (February-March) – Arunachal Pradesh

Tawang is one of the most beautiful hill stations you can ever visit during your travel to India. It is also an important center for Buddhist learning, something that attracts people from all across the world. […] The Losar Festival is among the most important festivals celebrated in Tawang. Losar is celebrated by the Monpas … Read more

Wastewater snow would ruin a mountain considered sacred – Flagstaff (USA)

[R]ivers run through Navajo lands but the water is diverted to golf courses in Phoenix […] while natives lack legal rights to the water and can’t even get plumbing to wash their hands. Source: Janene Yazzie, a Navajo community organizer, explained to her interlocutor from the New York Times quoted by Vinay Lal (Professor of … Read more