Dr. Biruté Galdikas, Educator, Conservationist, and Expert in Orangutans

Dr. Biruté Galdikas (Image Source: Orangutan Foundation International Australia)

Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas is a renowned educator, conservationist, and expert in organutans.  She is considered one of the top three primatologists in the world, alongside Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, but she does not have the same notoriety or global presence as these women.  The reason: Dr. Galdikas spends most of her time studying, preserving, and as available rehabilitating the primates she knows and loves.  This blog post will discuss Dr. Galdikas’s life and work, focusing on her contributions to better understanding and working toward saving orangutan species.

 

Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas was born in Germany to Lithuanian parents.  Her birth occurred while they were immigrating to Canada, which is why Galdikas was ultimately raised in Toronto, Canada.  As a young child she discovered her passions for exploration, discovery, and primates.  She credits checking out a Curious George book from her local library as inspiring her love of primates.  She ultimately pursued studies in psychology and zoology for her undergraduate degrees. 

 

When her family moved to the United States she enrolled in graduate programs in anthropology at the University of California-Los Angeles.  This is when she met Dr. Louis Leakey, who had just funded primate research of Jane Goodall, who studies chimpanzees, and Dian Fossey, who worked with gorillas.  Galdikas explained to Leakey that she wanted to study orangutans, but Leakey was hesitant to sign off on funding such a project.  This was because orangutans were poorly understood due to a lack of significant study.  This led many to inaccurately conclude that orangutans were aloof, solitary creatures that were impossible to study, thereby warranting little need to do so. 

 

Galdikas was not deterred, however.  Her determination to study orangutans led Leakey to fund her research in 1971.  She established her research base, which she named Camp Leakey in honor of the funding she received, in Borneo.  She immediately went to work studying wild orangutans, and her discoveries revolutionized studies of orangutans.  She was the first to document that orangutans consumed fruits, eventually documenting over 400 different fruits they will consume.  She also was the first to observe the extended birth interval of orangutans, as well as the gregarious nature of mother-child interactions.  She identified it was the males who were largely solitary, not the females who would often stay with their female relations throughout their lifetimes. 

 

All of this brought much needed attention to orangutan species, who were already facing serious conservation issues related to deforestation and the illegal pet trade.  Galdikas observed these issues, and she used her position to create a platform for voicing their concerns not just to the Indonesian government but to the world.  Her efforts were not widely accepted as she received threats, was harassed, and even kidnapped once.  Again, she was undaunted and continued her efforts to save and preserve orangutan species.  In 1986 she started the Orangutan Foundation International in part to spread awareness about the need to save these species.  This organization also provided rehabilitation programs for orphaned and captured orangutans.  It was not without controversy.  Because kidnapped orangutans experienced significant trauma at an early age they were prone to lashing out at staff and guests at the rehabilitation center, causing many to question whether such efforts were worthwhile.  Ultimately, the program successfully rehabilitated and released over 500 wild-born but kidnapped orangutans back into their natural habitats. 

 

The Orangutan Foundation International has also been instrumental in raising the funds necessary to purchase lands and preserve the orangutans’ habitat.  Galdikas and her team has also used the funds to employ local residents to help in conservation and preservation efforts.  Because Indonesia has a significantly high unemployment rate many Indonesians do what is necessary to survive, including engaging in dangerous and illegal activities (e.g., illegal poaching of orangutans and logging their habitats).  By providing Indonesians legitimate means of employment the Foundation has been instrumental in providing a resource to the local people while also serving its mission in saving orangutans.

 

It is these and various other efforts and initiatives that Galdikas has been involved in that has earned her various awards over her lifetime.  In 1997 she received Indonesia’s highest honor for environmental leadership: the Hero for the Earth Award.  She remains the only non-Indonesian to earn this award (although she has since applied for and received Indonesian citizenship) and one of the first women to win the award. 

 

Galdikas, however, is not about the fame and the awards.  She continues to concentrate her efforts in what she loves: studying and saving orangutans.  She does not seek the spotlight unless it is to serve that purpose.  She has almost 50 years of experience doing what she loves, and she has no intention of stopping any time soon.  This is in part because her work remains incomplete, but her efforts have done a lot to mitigate the loss of these amazing primates.  Hopefully, she will see the fruits of her labors within her lifetime, but she continues to train and inspire students around the world to help her with her work-be it in scholarship or applied conservation.

 

Bibliography

McNeill, H. (n.d.). Biruté Galdikas is a famous primatologist that you’ve probably never heard of . CBC.

Orangutan Foundation International Australia. (2024). Dr. Birute Mary Galdikas. Retrieved from Orangutan Foundation International Australia: https://orangutanfoundation.org.au/our-staff/dr-birute-mary-galdikas/

PBS. (2015, February 13). Pioneering Primatologist. Retrieved from Nature, PBS: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/orphan-king-pioneering-primatologist/11410/

Simon Frasier University. (2024). Birute Galdikas. Retrieved from Simon Frasier University: https://www.sfu.ca/archaeology/about/people/faculty/bgaldikas.html

 

Anthropologist Profile: Viki Eagle: Doctoral Student

Viki Eagle (Image Source: UCLA American Indian Studies)

 

Today’s blog post is dedicated to discussing the exceptional work of Viki Eagle, a doctoral student focusing on sociocultural anthropology and American Indian Studies out of the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA).  Viki Eagle is of American Indian and part Asian descent, and she draws inspiration from her American Indian identity and culture to guide her current doctoral research.  This blog post, however, will address not only this but her past work as it informs where she is today and the goals she seeks to achieve in the future.

 

Viki Eagle (Figure 1) is Sicangu Lakota and part Japanese who hails from Denver, Colorado.  She earned her Bachelor’s degree in International Studies with minors in Studio Art (Photography) and Japanese Language from the University of Denver.  During that time she studied abroad in Japan, but she ultimately returned to the United States and began teaching photography and film at the Red Cloud Indian School. 

 

She returned to graduate school to earn her Master’s degree in Higher Education, wherein she concentrated her studies in Native American Student Recruitment and Retention.  She quickly put that knowledge and experience to work as she became employed as the UCLA Native American Recruiter in Undergraduate Admissions.  Her experiences in this position at UCLA led her to realize a need for programs to support American Indian students at UCLA.  She ultimately moved forward in the creation and implementation of such programming.  She then took these experiences with her as she transitioned back to her Alma Mater, the University of Denver, becoming their Director of Native American Community Partnerships and Programs.  In this position she built programming that ultimately tripled the American Indian enrollment at the University through strategic recruitment and retention programs, which were instigated with supporting American Indian identities and communities at the forefront.

 

Ultimately, Eagle returned to school yet again, pursuing her doctoral studies at UCLA.  Her doctoral research draws upon her passions in photography and the arts as she seeks to use photo-ethnographic methods, visual anthropology, Indigenous feminism, community-based methods, and more to explore and showcase Rez Metal.  The term Rez Metal references the Indigenous metal (music) scene.  It comes from the phrase Rez, which references the reservation lands that belong to American Indians, but it is also a term that carries deep cultural meaning.  Rez Metal is a musical genre/movement that seeks to retake ideas about what it means to be American Indian and provide a more accurate and positive view of what American Indian life is about and who American Indians are.  Rez Metal moves beyond music to include visual artistry landscapes wherein photography, fashion, and other visual media are used to tell American Indians stories and truths, be it for themselves and/or others.  The goal of these works are to provide a voice to American Indians, who are often ignored, erased, or believed to no longer exist, so American Indians can share their truths. 

 

Eagle hopes to use her dissertation research and output as a means of empowering American Indians and deconstruct romanticized and false narratives about American Indians.  This is a passion of her that started not just with her doctoral research project but her previous art projects, which include her photographic arts exhibit, “The Real Life Indian”.  Her photography projects and ultimately doctoral research seek to provide an accurate and realistic depiction of the various American Indian groups and people that continue to exist and thrive in the modern world.

 

Works Cited

Eagle, V. (2014). About. Retrieved from Real Life Indian: https://reallifeindian.wordpress.com/

Marks, Z. (2023). About Me. Retrieved from Viki Eagle: https://www.vikieagle.com/\

Native Bruins. (2021, November 17). Native Bruins: Past, Present & Emerging – Viki Eagle. Retrieved from UCLA: American Indian Studies Center: https://main.aisc.ucla.edu/2021/11/17/native-bruins-past-present-emerging-viki-eagle/

 

A Family’s Legacy: The Archaeology of W.E.B. Du Bois’s Home

Image of the W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite (Source: W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite website)

 

Yesterday was the birthday of world renowned and influential sociologist, W.E.B. Du Bois.  If you have taken any sociology (or Black studies) courses you may have heard of W.E.B. Du Bois.  He is most notably remembered for his work confronting a variety of vitally important issues, such as racism, poverty, women’s rights, warfare, environmental degradation, and nuclear weapons.  He also advocated for education for all and civil rights for African Americans.  He is also known as a founder of various organizations and movements, including the Niagara Movement, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Pan-African Congresses. 

 

His professional accomplishments often overshadow his personal life, as well as the life of his family.  He was the descendant of several generations of African Americans who lived in rural New England.  In fact, his childhood home, the Black Burghardt family homestead, was gifted to him by members of the NAACP as a 60^th birthday present.  He intended on renovating the home, where he lived between the ages of 2 and 6, but ultimately, he never completed this project.  He ultimately sold the property before moving to Africa, and the home was subsequently torn down.  Several decades later two individuals purchased the property for the express purpose of memorializing W.E.B. Du Bois’s life and accomplishments.  Today, the W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite is a National Historic Landmark, and various interpretative options are available to visitors to learn more about this accomplished man.  There have also been a series of archaeological investigations completed at the site, which have and continue to provide information about the livelihoods of the Black Burghardt family, maternal relatives of Du Bois, and glimpses into what life may have been like for rural African Americans of New England.  This blog post will discuss what is currently available about those livelihoods.

 

The archaeological investigations at the W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite were conducted during the 1980s and early 2000s.  They were led by faculty and staff at the University of Massachusetts Amherst through field schools that enabled students to learn and practice archaeological excavation techniques.  Early excavations (conducted in the 1980s) relied heavily on non-invasive survey techniques, whereas later excavations (completed in the early 2000s) utilized cultural informants by way of community members who were involved in or witnessed the original preservation efforts of the home either by Du Bois or the two individuals responsible for promoting the conservancy of the site.  These individuals were also useful in pinpointing historical records and documents that the (faculty, staff, and student) researchers either were unaware of or had not previously considered.  Taken together, these methods have provided a rich background on the home and property, thereby providing directions for each archaeological investigation.

 

The initial investigations of the 1980s provided information concerning locations of specific structures that had previously existed on the site.  Currently, as was the case 40 years ago, there only structure remaining on the property is a collapsed cellar, so being able to recognize and locate other structures was important since there was no physical evidence of their existence.  More recent investigations have either supported or rejected those initial conclusions, as well as located additional aspects of the home and family’s life.  One new discovery was the presence of small agricultural plots adjacent to the family home.  It is unclear if these were gardens, which is the prevailing assumption, and what their specific purposes were (e.g., grow medicinal herbs or food).  Investigations into the use and purpose of these plots are ongoing.

 

The excavations also turned up a variety of artifacts, largely what would be expected at a site that was occupied for over 130 years.  There were a variety of utilitarian, architectural, personal, and nutritionally supportive items, which included glassware, ceramics, agricultural tools, and more.  There various types of ceramics, ranging from ornate to plainware.  The glassware artifacts showed an emphasis on medicinal products, such as various historically available medicinal products.  Personal hygiene products were also evident among the glass artifacts (e.g., Vaseline, Listerine, and hair products).  Glass was also used for food storage as a number of fruit storage jars and some alcoholic beverage containers were also discovered, although many of the latter items may have been dumped on the site by neighbors after the family left the area.  There were also several pieces of jewelry and other personal adornment items found throughout the investigations.

 

One of the more interesting artifacts was an assemblage known as a minkisi bundle, which is a container filled with spiritually important objects.  The assemblage was found in the house foundation and included a metal button with a six pointed star on it, a juvenile bear’s tooth, polished stone.  It is unknown who put the minkisi bundle in the cellar or why, but its presence provides greater insights into the family’s beliefs, as well as the greater beliefs and traditions of New Englanders.

 

Additionally, the historical investigations and artifacts provided a greater understanding of the daily life of the Black Burghardt family.  It was clear that the family had individual autonomy and choice regarding professions.  The family also hosted boarders who would rent rooms in the home.  Because Du Bois recorded his recollections of his childhood, coupled with the artifacts (based on type and location), the archaeological team was able to determine that not only did the Black Burghardt family reside on the property but also did two other families: the Freemans and Woosters.  In fact, a doll and several of those alcoholic beverage bottled were linked back to these families.

 

While the excavations may be completed the analysis of the artifacts and what they can tell us about the Black Burghardt family are not.  The information provided in this post is just a sample of what is currently known about the family, as well as the Freeman and Wooster families.  This information may also allow for greater interpretation of what life was like for African Americans in New England.  All of this and more is yet to be seen, however, but thus far the information that is known provides more information into the early years of W.E.B. Du Bois and his family’s rich history.

 

References

Paynter, R., Lynch, K., Norris, E., & Lewis, Q. (2008). Archaeology at the W.E.B. Du Bois Boyhood Homesite. Amherst: University of Massachusetts .

The Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area. (2024). W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite. Retrieved from W.E.B. Du Bois National Historic Site: https://www.duboisnhs.org/w-e-b-du-bois-homesite/

 

Endangered Language Profile: Gullah

   Video: A Story Told in the Traditional Gullah Language at the African American Heritage Day

 

For almost 350 years Africans from across central and western Africa were kidnapped and forcibly relocated to the Americas as part of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.  The number of Africans stolen from the continent is estimated to be in the millions, although only a fraction of those individuals actually made it across the ocean.  This is not an unknown or unfamiliar story to many readers, but it is central to the topic of today’s blog post: the endangered language of Gullah (also known as Geechee).

 

Gullah (aka, Geechee, but herein referred to as Gullah) is the name of both the ethnic group and language spoken by the descendants of enslaved Africans who settled along the coastal islands of the American south.  The Gullah resided on and continue to call the islands along the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia home, although there are some who say that they also occupied areas along northern Florida.  These populations established their communities in these areas beginning in the 1700s, intermixing their unique cultural traditions, beliefs, and values from the various African nations they came from with English and other European languages and ways of life. 

 

The Gullah remained largely in isolation until the 1950s.  This was partially due to involuntary and voluntary factors.  The islands they resided on were difficult to get to, creating barriers to both entering and leaving the islands.  There were also strong prejudices against the Gullah and their language, both of which were labeled as “low class” or uneducated, leading to many not to reach out to the Gullah.  The Gullah also preferred the isolation as it enabled them to practice their culture and religion and speak their language free from prejudice and/or judgements.  This isolation fostered a unique culture and language that was shared and passed down through the generations among the Gullah, which remained largely unchanged until almost 75 years ago.  With the creation and construction of bridges, however, these islands were better connected to the mainland, leading to increased contact, and the changing economic landscape forced many Gullah to leave their ancestral homes.  This led to various cultural and linguistic changes.

 

While various linguists studied the Gullah language it is the pioneering work of Lorenzo Dow Turner that is considered the most influential.  This is because he was the first scholar to identify the African elements that were present in the Gullah language.  Linguists who had studied Gullah previous to Turner concluded that no such elements remained, and that the language was a broken and poorer version of English.   Turner’s work demonstrated that Gullah is derived from English by borrowing English words, but there exist strong connections in vocabulary and grammatical elements to various west and central African languages, including Mandinka, Fula, Mende, Vai, Akan, Ewe, Kongo, and Kimbundu.  This makes Gullah the only known and recorded American English creole language.  Furthermore, Turner’s work, which was completed throughout the beginning and mid-20^th century, documents the language prior to more consistent contact from mainlanders as Turner recorded various native speakers for his research.

 

Unfortunately, Gullah is considered an endangered language.  It is estimated that there are only several hundred native speakers left, although there are several thousand semi-speakers of Gullah.  For a long time younger generations showed little interest in learning Gullah, citing it as the language of the elderly.  There were also efforts by American educational institutions to discourage the speaking and learning of Gullah.  Additionally, because Gullah is largely an oral language it is difficult to learn if one does not have a native speaker available to teach it. 

 

These are challenges that are not without solutions, however, as the Gullah are taking various steps to preserve their language.  Younger generations are encouraged to learn the language to preserve it and the culture associated with it.  Gullah language and culture is richly steeped in oral history and storytelling, which has initiated a cultural festival wherein Gullah stories and language are shared through various art forms.  There remains hope that this language will not be lost through Turner’s and various other’s recordings, but the risk of extinction remains.  Hopefully the efforts of the Gullah themselves, as well as Gullah and non-Gullah scholars, does not allow that outcome to occur.

 

Works Cited

Campbell, Emory S. "Gullah Geechee Culture: Respected, Understood and Striving: Sixty Years after Lorenzo Dow Turner’s Masterpiece, Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect." The Black Scholar (2011): 77–84. Print.

Endangered Languages Project. Gullah-Geechee, Endangered Languages Project. 2021. Electronic. 2 January 2024.

"Gullah." Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications (1975): 468–480. Print.

Kelley, Jason. "Lorenzo Dow Turner, PhD’26." University of Chicago Magazine November-December 2010. Electronic.

National Park Service. Low Country Gullah Culture Special Resource Study and Final Environmental Impact Statement. Atlanta: NPS Southeast Regional Office, 2005. Print.

Smithsonian Journeys. "Photo: Language and Storytelling Southern Style." Smithsonian Journeys 26 January 2010. Electronic.