Vanishing Cultures and the Ethnosphere

Wade Davis, an anthropologist and ethnobotanist, has traversed the globe for more than twenty years exploring indigenous cultures. He has been described by David Suzuki, Canada’s leading environmental advocate, as “a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet, and passionate defender of all of life’s diversity.” Davis spent over three years in the Amazon and Andes as a plant explorer, living among fifteen indigenous groups in eight Latin American nations while making some 6,000 botanical collections. His work later took him to Haiti to investigate folk preparations implicated in the creation of zombies, an assignment that led to his writing The Serpent and the Rainbow (1986) and Passage of Darkness (1988). He is the author of numerous books, including Light at the Edge of the World (2002), on which his lecture was based.

In his presentation, Davis explored indigenous cultures around the world, many of which are threatened with extinction. A professional speaker for nearly twenty years, Davis has lectured at such prominent institutions as the American Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, California Academy of Sciences, Field Museum of Natural History, New York Botanical Garden, National Geographic Society, Conservation International and World Wildlife Fund. During his visit to KANEKO, Davis also spoke at a fundraising dinner and shared advice and observations with KANEKO staff and Board members. KANEKO is thrilled that Davis subsequently accepted an invitation to join the KANEKO Creative Board. Read Wade Davis’ National Geographic biography,and watch his TED talks.