To

 the  Kyoto  Review  Community,  

 
It is with sadness that we pass on news of the death of one of our contributors. Dr. Reed Wadley co-
authored the feature article “Vigilantes and Gangsters in the Borderland of West Kalimantan,
Indonesia” with Michael Eilenberg in 2006. Reproduced below is his obituary by the Borneo Research
Council and information on the Reed Wadley Memorial Fund to aid graduate students planning
research on cultural anthropology in Borneo.

Reed Wadley 1962-2008

 
Many  of  you  have  undoubtedly  already  heard  that  Reed  Wadley  died.  For  those  of  you  
who  have  not  yet  received  this  news  it  is  with  great  sadness  that  I  write  to  inform  you  that  Reed  
died  on  June  28,  2008  after  a  courageous  two-­‐year  long  battle  with  Ewing  Sarcoma.  Reed  passed  
away  at  the  height  of  his  intellectual  powers  and  research,  with  much  of  his  research  and  
publication  unfulfilled.  He  was  an  energetic  and  dedicated  field  worker,  having  spent  three  years  
in  West  Kalimantan  with  the  Emperan  Iban,  many  of  whom  remained  his  close  friends  and  sent  
him  Iban  medicines  for  this  illness.  
 
Reed’s  research  interests  were  on  the  human-­‐environmental  interactions  including  a  
focus  on  the  historical  and  modern  trajectories  of  natural  resource  use  and  management  in  the  
tropical  forest.  His  many  publications,  some  of  which  are  still  in  press,  made  major  contributions  
to  anthropology  including  the  understanding  of  swidden  cultivation,  local  ecological  knowledge,  
and  ritual.  His  most  significant  publication  is  his  edited  volume  Histories  of  the  Borneo  
Environment:  Economic,  Political  and  Social  Dimensions  of  Change  and  Continuity  (KITLV  Press),  
which  arose  from  his  three  year  study  of  the  Dutch  archives  at  Leiden  University  where  he  
focused  on  the  ethnohistory  of  the  Iban  on  the  borders  of  West  Kalimantan  and  Sarawak.  
 
Reed  was  Associate  Professor  at  the  University  of  Missouri  (Columbia),  and  served  on  the  
Board  of  Directors  of  the  Borneo  Research  Council  and  Board  of  Sponsors  of  the  Anthropologists’  
Fund  for  Urgent  Anthropological  Research.  Reed’s  research  materials  from  the  Dutch  archives  
are  to  be  housed  at  the  Tun  Jugah  Foundation,  Kuching,  Sarawak,  and  copies  of  his  unpublished  
field  notes,  records,  and  manuscripts  at  the  Firebird  Foundation  for  Anthropological  Research.  
Dr.  Wadley’s  cremated  remains  were  divided  between  his  family  in  Idaho  and  his  Iban  family  in  
Borneo.  Reed  is  survived  by  his  wife  Dr.  Oona  Paredes,  also  a  cultural  anthropologist,  and  by  
their  10-­‐year  old  son  Lucas  Wadley.  
 
The  BRC  has  lost  an  extremely  valuable  member  as  have  all  those  working  in  Borneo.  To  
honor  Reed’s  life  and  work,  the  BRC  has  established  a  memorial  fund  with  the  approval  of  Reed’s  
wife,  Oona  Paredes.  
 
Sincerely,  
George  N.  Appell,  Ph.D.  
President,  BORNEO  RESEARCH  COUNCIL,  INC.  
P.  O.  Box  A,  Phillips,  Maine  04966,  U.S.A.  
Telephone  207-­‐639-­‐3939  /  FAX  207-­‐639-­‐4600  
 e-­‐mail:  brc@borneoresearchcouncil.org      
  www.borneoresearchcouncil.org  
THE REED WADLEY MEMORIAL FUND

The Reed Wadley Memorial Fund has been established by the Borneo
Research Council to honor the life and work of Dr. Reed Wadley (1962-2008).
The fund will provide supplemental grants to graduate students in cultural
anthropology planning to do research in Borneo.

Gifts to honor Dr. Wadley’s memory should be sent to the Borneo Research
Council, P.O. Box A, Phillips, Maine, 04966, USA.

Further inquiries about the fund should be sent to the same address.
http://rcp.missouri.edu/reedwadley/index.html

Reed Wadley