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The New West: Rite of Passage
Published
7 years agoon
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Outlaw PartnersTo be men, real warriors don’t have to kill lions
By Todd Wilkinson EBS Environmental Columnist
Daniel Ole Sambu and I were sitting in the second-floor grand room at Jackson Lake Lodge discussing predator conflicts when he said, “American cowboys love their cows and we love our cows too.”
Mr. Sambu isn’t a wrangler; he’s a self-identified herdsman-warrior—a member of the mighty Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania. Daniel’s people for 600 years have venerated the killing of lions as a rite of passage for boys becoming men. They’ve also adhered to a long tradition of taking lethal revenge on big cats that eat their livestock.
Cattle are treasured assets on the same African plains where great wildlife migrations still happen—think of the Disney film “The Lion King.” Yet this is the real-life region that serves as a comparative reference point for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
While lions have caused conflict with the Maasai, they are simultaneously beheld with profound reverence. However, the outlook for lions is grim.
In the span of two human generations, lion populations in eastern and southern Africa have plummeted from hundreds of thousands to just 20,000, raising fears that by the middle of this century they might cease to exist in the wild.
Finding this outcome unacceptable, Daniel became involved with an organization called Big Life Foundation where he serves as predator protection coordinator. Big Life Foundation has ushered forth two game-changing initiatives. It has a compensation program that reimburses livestock losses caused by lions. Further, it has advanced an alternative to the deeply-engrained belief that a young man must kill a lion to earn warrior credentials.
In its place is something called the Maasai Olympics where men from different clans compete with one another to earn honor and respect in their community.
Daniel knows how difficult it can be to tweak culture so that new ways of thinking are possible. During his younger years, he and his friends carried their traditional spears on five unsuccessful lion hunts. Today, he is a role model for a different way of thinking.
At age 41, Daniel holds status as a Maasai elder. He is also a father of four (two boys and two girls) and, equally as important, a mentor to young men, showing that culture can be respected and lions kept alive as assets.
Of course, land conflict in Maasai is much more complicated than just lions versus people. Hyena predation on livestock is a serious problem—and there are leopards. But there’s also an insidious link to climate change that has created an epic challenge.
In the wake of devastating drought, many Maasai switched from herding cattle to sheep and goats, which in addition to being more vulnerable to predators, play a role in desertification. Their grazing destroys the land’s ability to support cattle and wildlife.
Just as Daniel and colleagues have made tremendous strides in resolving one dilemma they face another.
With just $1.2 million in funding annually, Big Life is nonetheless achieving extraordinary results. It funds the predator compensation program, employs 360 community rangers involved in anti-poaching efforts, and has a scholarship program for 200 students. Big Life is helping both lion and elephant populations (the latter wracked by ivory poachers) to rebound.
The Maasai’s story is told in a moving new film, “Tribe Versus Pride” by Dereck and Beverly Joubert.
Every time I attend the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, which attracts the best nature filmmakers and most innovative conservation thinkers in the world, I leave with three emotions: inspiration as a result of breathtaking work happening at a time of global ecological crises; admiration for film fest director Lisa Samford who, together with her team, put on an extraordinary event; and tinges of sadness.
Why sadness? First, the world needs courageous underdogs like Daniel and his associates who, against overwhelming odds, are fighting battles to save wildlife. They deserve our support but don’t always get it.
Second, I wonder: are we as humans capable of paying attention to the big picture?
Third, with such a profound combination of hard-earned experience, insight and talent assembled in one place, why do federal and state wildlife managers in Greater Yellowstone not use the knowledge pouring out of the film festival as a vital resource?
Answer: there is still a prevailing imperialistic/post-colonial mindset that we in the developed world have all the answers.
Yet it’s clear with ongoing, often irrational mindsets prevailing in our own region with issues like “predator management” that we don’t. There are a lot of rural communities in the U.S. that could learn from the Maasai by making cultural changes to achieve better outcomes for co-existence between humans and predators.
If you care about lions, elephants and the future of other iconic African species, if you believe in the power of local people to make positive change, and if you root for underdogs, then you ought to think about Daniel Ole Sambu of Big Life Foundation in your giving.
For more information, visit biglife.org.
Todd Wilkinson, founder of Mountain Journal (mountainjournal.org), is author of “Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek” about famous Greater Yellowstone grizzly bear 399 featuring 150 photographs by Tom Mangelsen, available only at mangelsen.com/grizzly. His profile of Montana politician Max Baucus appears in the summer 2017 issue of Mountain Outlaw and is now on newsstands.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
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14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
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Please join the Arts Council of Big Sky for free music from Jacob Rountree at the Wilson Hotel Lobby Bar from 5-7 p.m.
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Please join the Arts Council of Big Sky for free music from Jacob Rountree at the Wilson Hotel Lobby Bar from 5-7 p.m. on April 24.
Jacob Rountree is an alternative/indie songwriter living in the stunning alpine of Montana. Contemplative yet playful, his lyric forward style is reflective of his love for philosophy, poetry and quantum physics.
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(Wednesday) 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
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The Wilson Hotel
145 Town Center Ave
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Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
Event Details
Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
Time
(Wednesday) 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location
The Waypoint
50 Ousel Falls Rd