NYAS @ WGF 3/27: Close Encounters: The Dilemmas of Contact for Isolated Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon
Join us Monday evening March 27th at 5:45 PM at The Wenner-Gren Foundation for the next installment of the New York Academy of Sciences lecture series. Dr. Glenn H. Shepard Jr., staff researcher in the Human Sciences Division at the Goeldi Museum in Belem, Brazil will be presenting, “Close Encounters: The Dilemmas of Contact for Isolated Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon”. Dr. Janet Chernela from University of Maryland will act as discussant.
Please note: the lecture begins at 6:30 PM, and while the event is free to attend pre-registration is required for entry into the building.
The Peru–Brazil border region harbors perhaps the world’s largest remaining refuge for isolated indigenous peoples, sometimes referred to as “uncontacted tribes.” Over the past few years, an increasing intensity of sightings, encounters and conflicts as well as sensational international media coverage has raised international awareness about their status, their unique vulnerabilities and the growing threats to their territories and ways of life. This presentation pieces together what little is known about the cultural history of isolated indigenous peoples in the Madre de Dios region of Peru, separates fact from fiction in popular media representations about them, analyzes their rapidly evolving interactions with outsiders, and weighs the complex opportunities and threats they face over the next decade.
-PLEASE NOTE EARLIER START TIME FOR DINNER AND LECTURE-
Buffet Dinner at 5:45 pm ($20 contribution for dinner guests / free for students).
Lecture begins at 6:30 pm and are free and open to the public.