Stephen Corry
Encyclopedia
Stephen Corry is a British
anthropologist
and indigenous rights activist, better known as the Director of the non-governmental organisation Survival International
. He has also been the chairman of the Free Tibet Campaign
since 1993.
, Turkey
and India
. Because his mother was born in India, he was particularly interested in learning about the country and fulfilling his passion of mountain climbing. At 18 he found himself at Mount Everest
, Nepal. With no money and no support, Corry had to rely on the local people for sustenance. Before his interaction with the Himalayan tribes, he had always believed that British civilisation and development was the best. His experience with these people completely changed his mindset. With no electricity or cars, he found them to be living very fulfilling lives. They had no schools but they were very intelligent people. He became even more interested in learning about the tribal people of the world. When he returned to London he felt that he would be out of place with the general outlook. He was happily surprised to find people who thought the way he did among members of Survival International. In 1972, the organisation was re-launching and he immediately joined them. Upon becoming a member, he wanted to be dispatched to Brazil in order to study the indigenous people in Brazil, but was asked to stay in London and do research.
Stephen Corry later became Projects Director of Survival International. According to explorer and Survival's founder and President, Robin Hanbury-Tenison, after several long field trips to South America on their behalf, combined with an ability to relate to Amerindians
and anthropologists, Corry had become an expert on the status of the Indians of Colombia
, Peru
and Ecuador
. He had started his work with Survival with the ambitious intention of compiling a World Red Book of Threatened Peoples - parallel to the IUCN's "Red Book of Threatened Species
", an idea which was proposed to him by Robin Hanbury-Tenison, while discussing his future role in Survival International. In 1974 he spent nine months in Colombia researching the situation of the indigenous tribal peoples and setting up several projects for funding by the Joint Projects Committee. On his return, in 1976, he published his report, "Towards Indian Self-determination in Colombia". Since 1984, he has served as Director-General of Survival International. Stephen Corry is married and father of three daughters.
was awarded the Right Livelihood Award
in 1989. Corry gave the acceptance speech.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
anthropologist
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and indigenous rights activist, better known as the Director of the non-governmental organisation Survival International
Survival International
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969 that campaigns for the rights of indigenous tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples, seeking to help them to determine their own future. Their campaigns generally focus on tribal peoples' fight to keep their ancestral lands,...
. He has also been the chairman of the Free Tibet Campaign
Free Tibet Campaign
Free Tibet or Free Tibet Campaign is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, founded in 1987 and based in London, England. It stands for the rights of Tibetans to determine their own future and campaigns for "an end to the Chinese occupation of Tibet and for the fundamental human rights of...
since 1993.
Biography
Stephen Corry left school at the age 16 with a burning desire to travel and learn languages. With little guidance, he travelled to places like NepalNepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Because his mother was born in India, he was particularly interested in learning about the country and fulfilling his passion of mountain climbing. At 18 he found himself at Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
, Nepal. With no money and no support, Corry had to rely on the local people for sustenance. Before his interaction with the Himalayan tribes, he had always believed that British civilisation and development was the best. His experience with these people completely changed his mindset. With no electricity or cars, he found them to be living very fulfilling lives. They had no schools but they were very intelligent people. He became even more interested in learning about the tribal people of the world. When he returned to London he felt that he would be out of place with the general outlook. He was happily surprised to find people who thought the way he did among members of Survival International. In 1972, the organisation was re-launching and he immediately joined them. Upon becoming a member, he wanted to be dispatched to Brazil in order to study the indigenous people in Brazil, but was asked to stay in London and do research.
Stephen Corry later became Projects Director of Survival International. According to explorer and Survival's founder and President, Robin Hanbury-Tenison, after several long field trips to South America on their behalf, combined with an ability to relate to Amerindians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
and anthropologists, Corry had become an expert on the status of the Indians of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. He had started his work with Survival with the ambitious intention of compiling a World Red Book of Threatened Peoples - parallel to the IUCN's "Red Book of Threatened Species
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
", an idea which was proposed to him by Robin Hanbury-Tenison, while discussing his future role in Survival International. In 1974 he spent nine months in Colombia researching the situation of the indigenous tribal peoples and setting up several projects for funding by the Joint Projects Committee. On his return, in 1976, he published his report, "Towards Indian Self-determination in Colombia". Since 1984, he has served as Director-General of Survival International. Stephen Corry is married and father of three daughters.
Views
Stephen Corry has worked as a member of Survival International with the perspective that indigenous people have both moral and legal rights to their lands. The protection of this right is considered essential for their survival. They believe that governments must acknowledge this and that this is only possible if they are made to by force of public opinion. Survival International believes that the culture of this people is of great value, and it is now put at great risk from a violent interference on their way of living.Awards
Survival InternationalSurvival International
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969 that campaigns for the rights of indigenous tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples, seeking to help them to determine their own future. Their campaigns generally focus on tribal peoples' fight to keep their ancestral lands,...
was awarded the Right Livelihood Award
Right Livelihood Award
The Right Livelihood Award, also referred to as the "Alternative Nobel Prize", is a prestigious international award to honour those "working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today". The prize was established in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull, and is...
in 1989. Corry gave the acceptance speech.
Further reading
- Eede, Joanna (2009). We are One: A Celebration of Tribal Peoples. Quadrille Publishing. ISBN 1844007294
- Watson, F., & Corry, S. (2000). Disinherited: Indians in Brazil. Survival International. ISBN 094659211X
- Stephen Corry's acceptance speech for the Rightlivelihood Award
- Life Support - RSA Journal, February 2005
- Tomorrow’s tribes. The world’s tribal peoples in the 21st century. - Geographical, September 2004
- The Rainforest Harvest: Who Reaps the Benefit? - The EcologistThe EcologistThe Ecologist is a British environmental publication founded in 1970 by Edward Goldsmith. It addresses a wide range of environmental subjects and promotes an ecological systems thinking approach through its news stories, investigations and opinion articles. The Ecologist encourages its readers to...
, Vol.23, No. 4, July/August 1993 - Harvest Moonshine - A critique of the "rainforest harvest" - Survival International
- Survival and the Bushmen of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve: 39 questions - Interview with Stephen Corry about the Bushmen situation, June 2006