Indian Tribe Faces Avatar Scenario

How's about one more Avatar is awesome thread? Just one?

The Dongria Kondh reside far from the studios of Hollywood. Its 8,000 members live in little dried mud houses covered with palm leaves, with neither electricity nor television, withdrawn from the world on a mountain of the Orissa region in the most remote reaches of eastern India. Yet, their history resembles the scenario of James Cameron's box-office-record-breaking film "Avatar," to the point you could imagine the movie was based on it.

Sad how we got more upset about the Na'vi's plight than when it occurs right in front of us.

Like the Na'vi tribe, which, in the film, desperately tries to prevent humans from exploiting the mining resources of their sacred lands, the Dongria Kondh are threatened with expropriation by a British company - Vedanta Resources - that wants to mine their mountain's bauxite

Monday, February 8, the NGO published an appeal for help for the little tribe in eastern India to James Cameron in Variety, an American magazine devoted to the entertainment industry. "Avatar is fantasy ... and real. The Dongria Kondh tribe in India are struggling to defend their land against a mining company hell-bent on destroying their sacred mountain. Please help the Dongria. ... We have seen your film. Now envision ours," the NGO asks him.

That would be the right thing to do...

Local NGOs denounce the threats and intimidation, to which members of the tribe are victim, to leave their lands. In spite of these criticisms, on Tuesday, February 9, the company noted that it would spend ten million dollars to protect the hill and that it would "stimulate the economy of local communities" thanks to the mine's opening. The project, which obtained a green light from the Indian Supreme Court in August 2008, should begin in a few months. The Dongria Kondh tribe seems closer to extinction than to "Avatar's" happy ending.

Maybe they will get a sequel.

Link To Story Here

In Orissa, the hills of Niyamgiri are venerated like temples, since, according to the beliefs of the Dongria Kondh, they shelter the spirit of the god Niyam Raja. Every day, the inhabitants pray before little wooden statuettes placed along dirt paths, with offerings of fruit or sacrificed animals set at their feet.

I don't think there are any gods living in their mountains, always hated that excuse...

Could be an opportunity for the people to become modernized, or they could be screwed over in the end ( IE: mine closing, foundation of jobs lost ) if the company actually hired the village as workers for whatever reason, if that was even possible. Mentioning Avatar made me hate this situation a considerable amount...god I how I hate that movie...

Should they be forced to leave their homes? No
Should the company be allowed to buy land? Yes
Quite a dilemma, shouldn't really be allowed to just relocate a village or city, but he does own the land and is offering them medical infrastructure, schools and lands to reconvert to agriculture

Become modernized like the rest of the world / stop worshiping mountains would be the most viable option. They are offering to basically rebuild their village in a modern way...

reply to post by Whyhi


I have to say, that is one of the most ignorant posts I've read in a while. Congrats!

As always, the western world playing by their own rules, "we own the land", no you don't... how can you buy land people have been living on for hundreds of years? Who gave them the right? Who's selling? It's their land, though I'm pretty sure the tribe don't consider it their land because that kind of concept of owning land is absurd to most indigenous peoples..

Screw your contracts and your greed, these people shouldn't have to do a goddamn thing, and to modernize them against their will is repugnant. This kind of stuff gets my blood boiling.

reply to post by Whyhi



that # has always worked before, right?

will it change the company's world? no.

would it change the village's world? you betcha!

time to stop this crap, eh?

so you say, we just bring everyone up to speed?

reply to post by Whyhi


Whyhi - Don't hate their 'excuse' please. I'am sure you have no clue to why they are saying what they said. You have to be in their shoes living on those mountains to understand the connection they have with their surroundings.

Originally posted by TheLaughingGod
As always, the western world playing by their own rules, "we own the land", no you don't... how can you buy land people have been living on for hundreds of years? Who gave them the right? Who's selling? It's their land, though I'm pretty sure the tribe don't consider it their land because that kind of concept of owning land is absurd to most indigenous peoples..

Screw your contracts and your greed, these people shouldn't have to do a goddamn thing, and to modernize them against their will is repugnant. This kind of stuff gets my blood boiling.

Yes, owning land has always seemed like a fantasy to me.

They shouldn't have to do anything though, it is theirs.

[edit on 23-2-2010 by Signals]

reply to post by Signals


Every indigenous people has faced or will face an Avatar scenario. Sadly, that is how the world works.

reply to post by TheLaughingGod


This is happening in Eastern India, actually. Approved by the Indian supreme court in 2008.