A Compendium of Native American Tipi Decoration circa 1900

I found an online treasure chest of gas lantern slides today in Yale’s digital rare book library today. There are thousands of hand-coloured slides of the Blackfoot community in northwestern Montana at the turn of the 19th century and reflect the photographer’s particular interest in the unique decorative and artistic styles of the Native American…

Once Upon a Time in Taiwan…

Unless you are Taiwanese, you probably don’t know that Taiwan is inhabited by indigenous Pacific Islanders. Currently, there are 16 recognized tribes on the island, comprising 2.4% of Taiwan’s population of 23 million people, comparable to the native population in the United States (2%). Archeological evidence shows that indigenous people have been on Taiwan for…

The Tribe That Inspired Frida Kalho

That unapologetic unibrow, the halo-crown of jet-black centre-parted flower-adorned plaits, rouged cheekbones and russet lips frame a fearless stare. Her Mexican torzal necklaces, silver filigree earrings and onyx beads you and I could only hope to collect over a lifetime of scouring obscure artisanal markets. No prizes for guessing who she is. But let’s drag…

The Lost Treehouse Tribes of the Rainforest

Until 1970, they were unaware of the existence of any people on Earth besides themselves. Hard to believe with such extensive views from their 140 foot high tree dwellings, but when you’re living in one of the least explored jungles in the world, these things can happen. The indigenous Korowai tribe have been building their…

Stolen Beauty of the Chin Girls

The isolated mountains of Burma’s Chin state are home to a number of hill tribes that have been separated from modern world for centuries. Chin women used to follow the thousand-year-old tradition of tattooing their faces. The ritual, officially banned by the government in the 1960s, doesn’t attract modern Chin girls anymore. Soon the thousand-year-old…

Meet the Most Feared Women in History

From daughters to soldiers, from wives to weaponized, they remain the only documented frontline female troops in modern warfare history. A sub-saharan band of female terminators who left their European colonisers shaking in their boots, foreign observers named them the Dahomey Amazons while they called themselves N’Nonmiton, which means “our mothers”. Protecting their king on…

The Real Princess Leia

Could it be that Princess Leia hails from an ancient Native American tribe called the Hopi, short for Hopituh Shi-nu-mu, meaning, “The Peaceful Little Ones”? Hollywood didn’t give them much credit for one of cinema’s most iconic hairstyles, so in the interest of learning and being curious, let’s put the spotlight on these real-life Princess Leia(s)… According to George…

The Male Beauty Contest of the Sahara Desert

The beauty standards and criteria aren’t all that different from your typical beauty pageant, except in the nomadic Wodaabe tribe of Niger, it’s the girls who get to judge the boys. That old cliché that only women are high maintenance? Well, meet the tribesmen who spend an incredible amount of time, energy, and money to get…

Living like a Castaway on the San Blas Islands

Our boat awaited us on the other side of the jungle. We didn’t know it yet, but the 4am wake-up call, the roller coaster ride through the Guna mountains and a thrashing from the sea on a tiny boat would be all worth it to reach the San Blas Islands… The dock consists of a few sticks and…

Apocalypso Now: Tribal Lunch in the Panama Jungle

We had been travelling for twenty-four hours (including a turn around from the airport in Paris at 5am to retrieve my American passport which I needed instead of my French passport for a 5 hour stop-over in Atlanta). But we made it. We woke up in a daze in a hotel room in Panama city to make an early…