Colonial rule, missionary campaigns, and post-independence Indonesian policies suppressed Arat Sabulungan, the Mentawai belief system in which tattoos are sacred links to nature, spirits, and community. The crackdown nearly erased the tradition. In recent years, however, Mentawai’s next generation has…

Bali’s indigenous Dalem Tamblingan people have called Lake Tamblingan and the Mertajati Forest home since at least the 10th century. But the Indonesian government’s decision to designate the area a tourist destination has robbed them of the land they hold…

Seizure of customary land, forced conversion, social exclusion, impoverishment, and famine: these are the types of bleak stories we often hear about indigenous peoples. For centuries, those in power have systematically marginalized these groups in what is now Indonesia, often…

When Amanda Wamblolo was young, she never had any difficulties finding food. Living in Yoka, on the eastern shore of Sentani Lake in Jayapura, Papua, between an expanse of hills and dozens of rivers flowing down the Cyclops Mountains, she…

The stigma attached to the Tobelo Dalam tribe in Halmahera in North Maluku, Indonesia, has made them a moving target, with the government branding them as criminals. They are struggling as nickel mines encroach on their traditional land and sources…

When Amanda Wamblolo was young, she never had any difficulties finding food. Living in Yoka, on the eastern shore of Sentani Lake in Jayapura, Papua, between an expanse of hills and dozens of rivers flowing down the Cyclops Mountains, she…

The Bukit Suban Market in Air Hitam district, Sarolangun, Jambi, has long served as a meeting point for outsiders and the Orang Rimba indigenous community living in the forest. One recent Tuesday morning, the market was packed with buyers and…