Presented by Peter Van Arsdale, Ph.D.
Fjallraven Denver Store, 1510 Platte Street
6:30 PM
Free admission, guests welcome (no fee)
From a historical exploration perspective, spanning the so-called Age of Discovery, first contacts with previously unknown people have proven fascinating, mystifying, and controversial. At times those discovered have been described as “the Other,” “savages,” or “aliens.” At other times, they’ve been described as “giants” or “superhumans.”
This presentation will feature five such contacts, placing each in an anthropological context. Peter Van Arsdale’s first contact will include film footage of the men he and his team encountered exactly 50 years ago. The evocative phrase “Like People You See in a Dream” borrows from the first-contact writings about New Guinea of Edward Schieffelin.
Learn about:
• The Coahuiltecans of North America, ca. 1534, from the journal of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
• The Ujiji of Lake Tanganyika, 1858, from the journal of Sir Richard Burton
• The Tasaday of Mindanao, 1971, from the journal of John Nance
• The Sentinelese of the Andaman Islands, 1991, from the journal of Vishvajit Pandya
• The Citak of Indonesian New Guinea, 1974, from the journal of Peter Van Arsdale
Peter Van Arsdale, Ph.D., is a cultural anthropologist, human rights and community development specialist, and Fellow of The Explorers Club. He previously served as chair of the Rocky Mountain Chapter. He is the author or editor of ten books, the most recent: Encounters: 50 Fascinating Strangers from My Life on the Road (Amity Bridge, 2023)
RSVP by June 2 to jeff@blumenfeldpr.com