Anthropologist Stephanie Aleman on the Wai Wai Tribe

This week we look at an amazing, one of a kind cultural exchange program involving UW-Stevens Point and an indigenous tribe of Amerindians who live deep in the Amazon rainforest of Guyana. Over the past twelve years, anthropologist Stephanie Aleman has spent many months living with the Wai Wai tribe, learning their ways, speaking their language, and sharing the wild game killed by their hunters. This fall, Aleman brought two Wai Wai tribesmen, Wachana and Reuben Yaymochi, back with her to central Wisconsin and UW-Stevens Point. Reuben plans to return to get a biology degree so he can help his people preserve the biodiversity of their native rainforest. Aleman will talk about her life with the Wai Wai, the challenges of living a tribal existence 200 miles from the nearest road, and the greater challenges the tribe faces as they try to preserve their way of life in a changing world.