The iCross-Cultural Citizen Project – Our Indigenous World: !Kung – GROUP #3: !Kung Politics

Thursday, November 15, 2012

!Kung Politics

As a small, nomadic group in the Kalahari, the !Kung people have little to no say in the national government. In fact, they are not even recognized in the national constitution of Botswana as one of the tribal groups. Because of this, the !Kung have been oppressed and their rights are being taken away, gradually, while they are forced to live in smaller sections of southern Africa.

Within the tribes, the !Kung people focus on enforcing social consensus when determining the progression and function of the tribe. Generally, there are a few hereditary leaders but they exist with little to no power over the community as a whole. Social ridicule and sometimes execution function as a means of keeping a sense of social order throughout the tribe. The politics among the !Kung people function as there is no person or group that has any more power than another, helping to maintain peace and order within the tribe.

Source:

2005. Cultural Analysis: !Kung San Politics. Electronic Document,
http://social-shadow.tripod.com/politics.html

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Mission: The iCross-Cultural Citizen Project is a cultural anthropology course-based project meant to raise critical consciousness about the rich cultural diversity in our indigenous world (in our planet). Being totally aware of the limitations of being outsiders, we are a group of multidisciplinary undergraduate students who believe in cross-cultural sensitivity and participatory agency aimed at disseminating information about indigenous realities as accurately as possible.

Vision: The iCross-Cultural Citizen Project’s vision is to create an online cross-cultural space for students, professionals, and youth to learn and exchange cross-culturally sensitive information about contemporary indigenous experiences. From that outsider student’s perspective, we will try to theoretically explore possible collaborative solutions to problems that affect the indigenous populations of our planet. Finally, we hope for the future creation of a space where indigenous youth can share their experiences and their realities with us for real mutual collaboration to take place.

Values:

1. We value the maximization of benefits to indigenous peoples and vulnerable populations in the world.

2. We value the respect for persons all over the world.

3. We value the equal treatment of people, and we are against the exploitation of vulnerable groups around the world.

4. We value collaborative cross-cultural learning and critical thinking.