Oxford University Press Tigers are Our Brothers: Anthropology of Wildlife Conservation in Northeast India

The Idu Mishmi people of Dibang Valley, Arunachal Pradesh, believe that tigers are their elder brothers. Killing tigers is, for the Idu Mishmi, a taboo. While their beliefs support wildlife conservation, they also offer a critique of the dominant mode of nature protection. Tigers Are Our Brothers places the Idu Mishmi experience at the centre of a global network of cultural, economic, and political tensions to contribute to our understanding of human-non-human relations. This first-ever ethnographic study of the Idu Mishmi is well-placed to consider questions of nature and culture, set against the real-world consequences of policy decisions. It argues for an inclusive, culturally informed, and people-centric approach to wildlife conservation.