Museum Of Natural History
When we were in southern China last year we spent some time hiking and driving through parts of mountainous Yunnan Province that are populated primarily with, not Han Chinese, but with “minorities.” (Their word.) So when I saw that the museum was offering a special photo exposition of the Yi and Naxi peoples, we were off…walking on a gorgeous sunny day through Central Park to the museum on the west side.
A non-profit organization had given cheap point and shoot cameras to over 200 locals who were asked to take pictures of their surroundings and daily life…a project intended to be empowering for them. The project included a first exposition of the photos in their own towns…the Yi in their big black tri-tipped hats and the Naxi in their blue and white…and it was tear-jerking to see pictures of absolutely delighted people looking at photos of themselves…for many a first experience.
Minorities in China have always been brutally discriminated against by a country that has considered them to be subhuman. But now that the government has discovered that the colorful minorities have become a tourist attraction and can bring money into these areas…all of a sudden they are being given special status. High in the mountains of Guizhou Province, in a tiny Miao town during their New Years celebration, I was told by a young urban Han Chinese college student from Fujian Province that it was his “duty” to volunteer in the local school without pay because he had so much and the farming people here had so little opportunity.
Tags: Minority Groups, New York City, USA
Zoe