A decade ago, Kayan headman Jok Jau Evong was banned from travel outside Malaysia for his vocal condemnation of destructive logging on indigenous lands. Last year, Jok won a lawsuit against the government and his passport was returned. His first-ever visit to the US, sponsored by the Borneo Project, kicked off with a World Affairs Council presentation in San Francisco on the impacts of international trade on local communities. During his stay, he guest-lectured at the University of California, Berkeley and Shasta College in Redding. A visit to the Maidu Forest Stewardship Project in Northern California enabled Jok to learn how one Native American tribe is attempting to reassert rights to land and cultural identity. His tour concluded with a gala dinner where Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates commemorated 11 years of extraordinary sister-city partnership between Jok’s village Uma Bawang and the City of Berkeley. For many friends and supporters of the Borneo Project, Jok’s visit offered a chance to return the generous longhouse hospitality! For a complete story of Jok’s visit to the Maidu Forest Stewardship Project, click here.