The Last Whalers: Three Years in the Far Pacific with a Courageous Tribe and a Vanishing Way of Life
by Doug Bock Clark
I happened upon this book at our library, before it closed for the pandemic, and immediately wondered if it might be a good choice as a geography supplemental book for Level 6 in Australasia.
It's exactly the kind of book I was hoping to find. It's an honest and personal description of a group of people struggling to find a balance between their traditional way of life and the modern world. It's respectful of their past and open about their struggles and problems.
Life in Lamalera might be materially poorer, but the people who mattered to him [Ben] were there. The more disillusioned he became with the modern world, the more he wanted to invest in the traditions of the Ancestors, which, after all, had offered a fulfilling life to his father and other older relatives no matter how little money they had.The author tries to be objective, but is honest about his own feelings. In that sense, it's a great "living" book because the student can easily see what the author's feelings are and ask himself or herself if the author is correct.
One thing to note, for Mater Amabilis™students, is the depiction of the Catholic faith. The Lamalerans are Catholics, but their faith is described with some irregularities. It's not clear if this is confusion (by the local priest, the members of the tribe, the translator, or the author) or if it means they are actually incorrect in their understanding of the faith. For example, the author says that "their Catholic faith permitted no possibility of remarriage." At the very least, it seems the Catholic faith they follow has been intermingled with their previous religion and traditions. These are great topics for discussions with high schoolers.
Plenty of research shows how hunters and gatherers and those living in more traditional societies are often actually happier by objective measures than those of us entrenched by the modern world and its technological barriers to personal relationships. The author asks an additional and slightly different question. Is there a benefit to all of humankind if these traditional societies continue to exist at all.
There are also some interesting descriptions of conflicts between conservationists and indigenous tribes. Here in the States, we usually view those opposed to conservation as being focused on material gain, though anyone paying careful attention as they drive through Native American reservations around (but not including) Grand Canyon National Park, can see how the conversation is a necessary one.
[T]he creation of most of the earth's six thousand national parks has been accomplished by curtailing indigenous tribes' traditional livelihoods or by forcing them from those territories -- usually so their lands can generate ecotourism revenue, the majority of which often ends up in the pockets of local officials and businessmen, and not with the displaced tribes.In the end, this book bluntly puts to the reader a sentiment we have addressed again and again in our homeschool's history and geography studies. What does it mean that a modern culture derived mainly from Western or European societies seemed to be spreading inexorably around the world through violent or economic conquest? As members of this society, how are we do address those who are not?
The modern industrial lifestyle did not colonize the world because it was best at fulfilling the emotional and spiritual needs of human beings. No, it conquered everywhere because advanced societies were stronger than traditional ones, and those in power rapaciously sought peoples, territories, and resources to further enrich themselves. Once industrialism had established itself, it offered enough significant advancements in material wealth, education, and healthcare to ensure that there was no going back. The benefits of modern states still prove irresistible to indigenous peoples in the contemporary world, often luring them away from their traditional lifestyles.There are advantages and disadvantages to both traditional and modern ways of living. The Lamalerans are trying to navigate between the two, allowing innovation while maintaining what is most important of the traditional ways. Clark's description of their lives and struggles is illuminating and through-provoking. It's on our list for Geography in Level 6.
I have received nothing for this honest post. Links to Amazon are affiliate links. I checked this book out from our library.
