Last Updated on April 7, 2025
Milking the Rhino, is a new documentary film that attempts to get away from the cliches of nature documentaries to reveal the complex reality of human-wildlife coexistence in “post-colonial” Africa.
The film focuses on the Himba tribe in Namibia and the Maasai in Kenya – two of oldest cattle cultures in the world – who are both in the midst of upheaval.
Having emerged from a century of “white man conservation,” which converted their lands to game reserves and propagated a general resentment for wildlife, the two Peoples now find themselves struggling to protect local wildlife and provide for their communities, while at the same time protect their livestock, their lands, and occasionally even themselves.
The documentary was produced by Kartemquin Films and will be airing on the PBS series Independent Lens in the spring of 2009. To learn more about the film, you can visit www.milkingtherhino.org
Across the world right now, Indigenous peoples are facing a renewed assault on their lands, rights, and ways of life.
From extractive industries pushing deeper into ancestral territories, to governments rolling back hard-won protections,
the threat is global—and it is growing.
What makes this moment especially dangerous is how little attention it receives.
Stories like this are disappearing in real time. Mainstream media
barely covers it and the coverage is fragmented. The public is left without the context
needed to understand what is truly at stake.
That is exactly why IC Magazine exists..
For more than 20 years, IC has reported on Indigenous struggles worldwide — consistently, independently, and without compromise.
We don’t follow news cycles; we trace patterns. We don’t sensationalize; we provide context.
And when the world looks away, we stay focused.
But this work is increasingly difficult to sustain.
We refuse to lock our reporting behind a paywall. We don’t sell access through subscriptions.
And we don’t answer to advertisers. IC Magazine survives solely because readers like you choose to
support independent Indigenous journalism.
Please donate today if you can. Every contribution helps us to continue this crucial work.
Thank you,
John Ahni Schertow
Founder and Editor in Chief
