Lead Me to Life: Voices of the African Diaspora

Through poetry and prose, anthropologists of the African diaspora unveil the echoes of the past in the present.

Elder

A poet-anthropologist of the African diaspora travels from a northern city to his ancestral home in the rural U.S. South—both as a memory and a belonging.

Can Indigenous Language Comics Save a Mother Tongue?

Publishers and researchers are creating graphic publications to help stem the loss of Hñäñho, spoken by the Ñäñho people.

Five Questions About Writing the African Diaspora

In this free live event, anthropologist and SAPIENS poet-in-residence Justin Wright, answers five questions about the African Diaspora poetry and prose project.

Confronting Anti-Blackness in “Colorblind” Cuba

In the 1960s, Fidel Castro’s revolutionary Communist government claimed to have eradicated racism in Cuba. An anthropologist explores how racial hierarchies persist despite these official narratives, shaping family dynamics and significantly limiting opportunities for Afro-Cubans.

The Resistance and Ingenuity of the Cooks Who Lived in Slavery

Archaeologists are investigating foodways and re-creating meals prepared by enslaved people who lived in North America and the Caribbean to better understand their everyday lives and fill gaps in the historical record.

When Asked if the World Would End They Answer No

An Indigenous anthropologist-poet visits Woody Island in Alaska, formerly the site of the Kodiak Baptist Orphanage in the early 20th-century, where her great-grandfather lived before being sent to the Carlisle Indian School.

Matrilines

An Indigenous anthropologist-poet searches for ancestors while acknowledging the need to adapt.

Matryoshka Song

An Indigenous anthropologist-poet speaks to the Russian colonization of Alaska from 1784–1867 and how stereotypes and histories shape the lives of Indigenous women.

Rethinking Masculinity: Fathers as Caregivers

An anthropologist explores whether the qualities fathers acquire though caregiving shifts their understandings of manhood.