A Kalahari Family - Part Five: Death By Myth

A Kalahari Family is a five-part, six-hour series documenting 50 years in the lives of the Ju'hoansi of southern Africa, from 1951 to 2000. These once independent hunter-gatherers experience dispossession, confinement to a homeland, and the chaos of war. Then as hope for Namibian independence and the end of apartheid grows, Ju'hoansi fight to establish farming communities and reclaim their traditional lands. The series challenges stereotypes of "Primitive Bushmen" with images of the development projects Ju'hoansi are carrying out themselves.

Namibian independence attracts vast amounts of international aid, but development programs no longer benefit Ju'hoan farms. We witness the power of the "Bushman myth." This myth- a belief that Ju'hoansi live uniquely in harmony with nature and are born to hunt. Promised great wealth, Ju'hoansi vote to establish a nature conservancy. When their profits are a meager 75 Namibian dollars ($10.50 US) each- Ju'hoansi ask, 'Where is all the money going?"