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'The Last Whalers' Documents A Disappearing Way Of Life

WUNC | By Frank Stasio,
Laura Pellicer
Published January 31, 2019 at 12:50 PM EST

On a remote, volcanic island in Indonesia, the Lamalaran Tribe is fighting to preserve its ancient language and traditions. The community is thought to be the last subsistence whaling tribe in the world, and it is one that writer Doug Bock Clark knows well. Over the course of three years, Bock Clark spent intimate time with the Lamalerans. He learned their language, got to know the depth of their culture and examined their connection with the natural world.

 Host Frank Stasio talks with writer Doug Bock Clark about his new book, book 'The Last Whalers: Three Years in the Far Pacific with a Courageous Tribe and a Vanishing Way of Life.'

He captures those experiences in his new book “The Last Whalers: Three Years in the Far Pacific with a Courageous Tribe and a Vanishing Way of Life” (Little, Brown and Company/2019). He also explores the tribe’s effort to preserve traditions from the pervasive encroachment of modernity.

Host Frank Stasio speaks with Bock Clark ahead of his book signing at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m.

 

Copyright 2019 North Carolina Public Radio
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio
Laura Pellicer
Laura Pellicer is a producer with The State of Things (hyperlink), a show that explores North Carolina through conversation. Laura was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, a city she considers arrestingly beautiful, if not a little dysfunctional. She worked as a researcher for CBC Montreal and also contributed to their programming as an investigative journalist, social media reporter, and special projects planner. Her work has been nominated for two Canadian RTDNA Awards. Laura loves looking into how cities work, pursuing stories about indigenous rights, and finding fresh voices to share with listeners. Laura is enamored with her new home in North Carolina—notably the lush forests, and the waves where she plans on moonlighting as a mediocre surfer.
See stories by Laura Pellicer