Background
The village of Long Bedian is situated in Baram, Miri division. It occupies an area of 15,456 sq m. At present, there are 1,578 people living in the 150 homes/houses in the village. The majority of the population in Long Bedian are Kayans.

The Kayan People
When Kayan people exhausted their land in the Apau Kayan area in Kalimantan, they migrated north into Sarawak where they settled in their present locations - midway on the Baram River, the upper Rejang River and the lower Tubau River (where they can still be found in their longhouses).

Kayan women are distinguishable by tattoos on their hands and their legs. It is considered a form of feminine beauty. The tattooing is carried out when a girl is about ten to twelve years old. Men and women used to perforate their earlobes. The men wear leopard's teeth through the perforation and the women wear brass or other types of material through the earlobes in order to extend them.

As with all Orang Ulu tribes, the Kayan are great craftsmen. They are well-known for their boat making skills, which they carve from a single block of belian tree - the toughest tropical hardwoods.

The Kayan population in Sarawak is about 15,000. Although many Kayan have become Christians, some are still pagans, unspoilt by Western religions.

History & Development of Long Bedian
During the war and the Japanese occupancy, deep in the tropical forest of Sarawak (near the Kuala Sungai Melanah [“Belanah – Kayan language”]), around the Apoh River and Baram, a group of Ulu people planned a great migration. In 1946, members of that society moved out and left their children and relatives. They came across a small canyon in Kuala Sungai Bedian or Sungai Durian ("Durian River"). There, they settled down and build a longhouse. Their settlement was named after Long Bedian, whereby the word “Long” means “Kuala”. The development of the Kayans' lifestyle along with the outside world contributed to the preservation of “ Long Bedian” till today.

The Long Bedian society has improved in many aspects of life - one of which is the moral aspect. After first few years living in Long Bedian, they soon abandoned their old religion and embraced Christianity. This change had a meaningful and great effect on the people of Long Bedian. Many socio-economic changes also occurred in the village. At the end of 1960, Long Bedian society was introduced to farming, planting coffee, as well as to government policies, for example, attending formal education in Sekolah Kebangsaan ("National School"), Long Bedian was made compulsory.