If you’re heading into an indigenous area, do try not to flaunt material goods and try to dress and act as the locals do to jumpstart a sharing of ideas and cultures with local people. Travelling to an indigenous area means you are an ambassador for your culture, not a superior entitled foreigner!

An educated traveller also understands that their visit to an area must have a minimal ecological impact, living as the locals do, avoiding wasteful use of natural resources. As much as possible, when visiting an indigenous area you should aim to spend money in local economies. This can be done by purchasing local food, hiring local guides and shopping at small, family-owned establishments.

Take the time to learn about your new home: traveling to an indigenous area without any understanding of the culture and attitudes can even be unsafe. An act or phrase that may appear harmless in one culture, can be considered rude or even hostile in another. Bruce Parry has said about the Western way of life, “We have our negative things. That’s not to say that I’m not proud of our culture, but we don’t do everything right. There are a lot of ways of living this life, and other ways of looking at the world. We still have a lot to learn. I certainly do.” So make the most of your time by learning about your host country and people to avoid miss-haps!

In Bruce’s own words, all travelers to exotic or indigenous lands have a great deal to learn about a culture that is different from their own. However, taking an active role in joining a culture, not just visiting a culture, can mean the difference in a so-so trip and the adventure of a lifetime…trust us, it’s worth the effort!

Bruce Parry immersed himself in “Tribe,” as he aimed to show the world places they’ve never seen and people they may never meet. In doing so, he brought attention to some very harsh social realities: Poverty, war, and famine as well as the effect these have on the indigenous peoples of the world. “Tribe” showed warring peoples, desperate for land that sustains their people, all the while showing us the humanistic angle that we can learn from.

As a western culture, we have become accustomed to a specific way of life. Everything we want is at our fingertips. Technology and innovation has made the world smaller as contact with other parts of the world is now instantaneous. I believe it is this area of life that Bruce Parry was trying to help us examine. Indigenous people have an immensely powerful sense of community. It is necessary for survival and vital for their continued growth as a people. Sometimes it’s the simplicity that can bring them together. A simple crisis like a child’s fever rallies the entire tribe to action. There are many lessons we can take from the remote peoples of the Earth.

There is a gratitude for the things they have that is not very common in western culture. We almost have a sense of being entitled to certain things they would definitely see as luxuries. Water is a precious resource that is not a given. Often they must fight for the life-giving resource that we have at our command. An adventure to visit these people would be well worth the time and effort. The memories that these people leave will impact the rest of your life. It will give you a different outlook on the way you live your life and make you better equipped to recognize the world beyond your community.

In actuality, the word indigenous describes the original group of people who inhabit a specific area. For instance, Native Americans are the indigenous people of the United States. Therefore, indigenous does indeed carry with it the weight of describing a group of people that could be seen as “old,” but what it really describes is a group that can be considered the “original” people from an area. Bruce Parry, on his programme “Tribe” often speaks of the people he encounters in his travels as being “indigenous” to the area he is in, and this is where a lot of people get confused. Many of the tribes that Bruce Parry visits are in fact much more primitive than other societies in the world, and since they are also identified as being “indigenous” to the area, the two words often become intertwined and confusing.

The reason why it is important to clarify this misunderstanding is that, in essence, this is no different than a stereotype, and most people agree that stereotypes are harmful and unhelpful. This is not necessarily Bruce Parry’s fault, as his show does nothing to confuse the term “indigenous” with the term “primitive.” Rather, the problem is on the viewer’s end, as this is where the confusion originates. If we as a society can learn to remove the association between these two words, then perhaps we can work to break down the stereotype that indigenous people are also “below” us in any way, shape or form. The bottom line is that this confusion must be cleared as soon as possible.

Imagine a life free from money, shops, doctors and the stock market. Many are considering trying out a more simple life, but is it even possible? Those who attempt to remove themselves from the grind that is modern life are called crazy, but could they be on to something bigger? As we can see in Bruce Parry’s “Tribe,” there is much that the modern world can stand to learn from these amazing people. From natural medicine to natural living, they can survive without shops and money. Few people who live in a society with modern commodities can even imagine what things would be like without them.

Because of Bruce Parry’s program, new exposure is being given to the world about indigenous cultures and traditions. What the world sees is that the way they are living actually makes more sense than living for money. They live for life. Everything they do revolves around living. A person can learn a lot by choosing to take a vacation and actually live with a host family from a different culture. It might be a shock, but there are many lessons that a person can learn by achieving such an experience.

Today holidays are becoming more than simply getaways. They are a way for people to peek inside the life of another culture and even participate in the process. This makes for better foreign relations and a more meaningful experience.

Before planning a trip to a foreign place, be sure to check into any local disputes in the area. Although exposure to another culture is good, you don’t want to enter a place where a civil dispute or war is in session! That said, the world as a whole is a very peaceful place and there’s no doubt you will be able to find somewhere for the trip of a lifetime!

1) To preserve their culture / lifestyle.

Each of these tribes subscribes to specific rules and laws that were established hundreds, if not thousands of years ago. By helping them preserve their values, we are helping to maintain this unique way of life. Any culture deserves the right to maintain their lifestyle, especially one that is so resilient.

2) We owe them autonomy

Many are making very conscious decisions not to integrate into modern society and are very strongly opposing logging, development, and displacement in or near their settlements. Bruce Parry, the leader of the series “Tribe,” wrote, “Tribe is also about how indigenous communities round the world are under threat from disease, human rights abuse, water and land rights and marginalisation from nation states and corporations.”

Because they have chosen to maintain their autonomy and adhere to their sets of values, we owe them the ability to be apart from their neighbouring societies/nation states. Further, as members of a thriving and active international community we are obligated to protect the weakest members in their quests for self-sufficiency, in the face of global corporations and aggressive governments.

3) Education

The most selfish reason to preserve the current indigenous ways of life is for our personal knowledge. By studying their way of life, we often can learn some things about our development as a species.

As Bruce Parry has noted, “These lessons have come about from looking at our own culture through fresh eyes.” He has learned to work through his preconceptions concerning all aspects of his life, this “fresh view” owes to his experience visiting these ancient societies.

By looking at ourselves in a new light, we realize that all societies perform acts that seem bizarre to outsiders. We also can assess what activities we do that could be improved or are completely without sense. At the end of the day, by studying different societies, we learn to appreciate our own more fully.