Matthew McDaniel

Who is Matthew McDaniel?

Matthew McDaniel is an American indigenous rights activist, formerly a carpenter, working to improve human rights for the Akha people of Thailand and Laos. He is the founder of the Akha Heritage Foundation. He lived in Thailand from 1991 to 2004.

On April 18, 2004, he was arrested at Thailand's border with Burma by Thai immigration authorities, jailed for nine days, and then deported. In July 2005 he moved from the USA back to Laos. His Thai Akha wife and children left Thailand and went to Laos to be with him. After his wife and children received visas, the family relocated to the United States in May 2006. A December 22, 2005 Keizer Times article reported on the difficulty in getting the visas.

McDaniel is opposed to what he claims are missionary efforts to rewrite Akha history and eradicate their culture. This includes a language and oral history, which he says are critical components to their unique identity. He opposes coercive missionary conversion tactics, and the removal of Akha children from their families and villages. He has frequently questioned why charities such as Rotary International support certain missionary groups. McDaniel has asserted that Rotary International has since pulled their web pages supporting the funding of the Children of the Golden Triangle Mission. McDaniel also asserted that UNESCO was working with US missionaries who were "destroying Akha culture".