 From 1969 to 1980 he directed the Anthropological, Prehistoric and Ethnographic Research center at Algiers (CRAPE).He also headed the first national union of Algerian writers for a time, until he left due to disagreements over views of the role of writers in society.In 1980, the prohibition of one of his conferences at Tizi Ouzou on kabyle poetry caused riots and what would be called the Berber Spring in Kabylie.