Ik People
The Ik people number around 10,000 and have made their home in the mountains of northeastern Uganda near the border with Kenya. Over the years, the Ugandan ethnic group has been removed from ancestral lands to create the Kidepo Valley National Park. The 10,000 that remain perpetually suffer from famine.
El Molo People
The northeastern Kenyan-based El Molo people have been driven to extinction because of ethnic mixing. According to anthropologists, the modern El Molo are believed to have no unmixed members left. The last recorded estimates from 1994 state that there were only eight original El Molo natives living. After two decades, that number may be closer to zero. However, the Wildize organization believes that there are only 300 people left and the “pure” El Molo may number only 40.
As of 2009, there were 2,840 El Molo residents living near Lake Turkana. The El Molo have thrived off of fishing in the lake’s waters. Unfortunately, the lake has been severely polluted because of external factors and has made natives sick.
Mursi People
Ethiopia’s Mursi or Mun people are farmers living in the Omo zone, which consists of the Omo River and valley. According to 2007 census estimates, there are 7,500 Mursi still living. For the past few years, the Mursi have come under attack because of Ethiopia’s plan to create a national park on their land. The Omo National Park was created in 2005 and has essentially stolen land from the Mursi without compensation. Now, the Mursi are “illegal squatters” on their own land.
