Andrew Gray (21 July 1955 in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

– 7 May 1999, near

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

) was a British

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

and activist for the rights of

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

Life

Gray graduated from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

in 1973 and received a PhD from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in 1983 for his work studying the Arakmbut people of the Peruvian Amazon. He then became director of the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), a post he held for six years. After leaving the IWGIA in 1989, he continued to act as a consultant for them and for related organisations such as the World Rainforest Movement, the International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Forest Peoples, the Gaia Foundation and Anti-Slavery International. Although he lectured at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

and the

, Gray avoided a conventional academic career and never took up a full-time research post. He continued to publish academic work, most notably ''The Arakmbut of Amazonian Peru'' (three vols, 1996–1997). He also spent a large amount of time on fieldwork, visiting and talking to indigenous groups worldwide. At the time of his death, was vice-chair of the IWGIA, and was working in the Pacific. Whilst travelling in the region, the light aircraft he was in came down in the sea off

; he survived the crash, but was separated from the group of survivors before they made it to shore, and was presumed dead.

References

1955 births 1999 deaths Cultural anthropologists Alumni of the University of Oxford Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Vanuatu Indigenous rights activists 20th-century British anthropologists Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1999 {{UK-activist-stub