Heritage and territoriality: Past, present, and future perceptions among the Tacana, T’simane, and Waiwai

Principal Investigators:
Prof. Dr. Carla Jaimes Betancourt (Universität Bonn)
Prof. Dr. Karoline Noack (Universität Bonn)
Dr. Lilian Painter (Wildlife Conservation Society, Bolivia)
Dr. Carlos Machado Dias, Jr. (Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Núcleo de Estudios da Amazônia Indígena, Brazil)

The need to strengthen the knowledge of indigenous groups in Bolivia and Brazil about natural and cultural heritage is vital for protecting their territories due to increased external pressure over their land/territories and resources. Here we address this issue from the perspectives of three indigenous groups of the Amazon, namely, the Waiwai, located in the Guyana Shield in Brazil, and the Tacana and T’simane peoples located in the Andean Piedmont and Llanos de Mojos, respectively, in Bolivia. This project aims to understand the complexities of notions of heritage based on local indigenous knowledge, conceptualizing ways to learn collectively about natural and cultural heritage, and introducing indigenous approaches into a fruitful dialogue with Western heritage notions and practices, such as site protection and musealization of artifacts.

Our research takes an interdisciplinary approach that emphasizes indigenous anthropological, archaeological, and ecological knowledge from the onset. Our bottom-up process horizontally integrates local indigenous researchers with external scientific researchers and institutions.

Institutions involve:
The University of Bonn
The NEAI (Núcleo de Estudos da Amazônia Indígena) at the Federal University of Manaus
The Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC)
The Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará (UFOPA)
The Wildlife Conservation Society in Bolivia WCS)
The Indigenous Board of the Tacana people (CIPTA)
The Organization of the indigenous communities of the Tacana of Ballivian (OCITB)
T’simane Moseten Regional Council (CRTM)
Universidad de Chile (Chile)

All project activities will be develop with Indigenous researchers, including female and male, elderly, and young adult community members.

CRTM – TSIMANE on December 9, 2020

“It is known that there are mysteries in the places where those writings (rock art) are on the stones. When people go there, rain and thunder come, that is why I say those are sacred places“ (Clemente Caimani).

CIPTA – TACANA on December 10, 2020

“The river is the one showing us what we are not looking for. The river bank collapses and suddenly the broken pots come out, sometimes intact. Another landslide comes and the river take them away“ (Oscar Marupa).

WAIWAI, Jatapuzinho in 2020

“This project will allow us to coexist with the whites without abandoning our way of life, so we can protect our territory that is being invaded by the whites to transform the forest“ (Alexander Waiwai)

Links:

https://www.volkswagenstiftung.de/en/news-press/news/cultural-heritage-what-yesterday-teaches-us-for-tomorrow https://portal.volkswagenstiftung.de/search/projectPDF.do?projectId=9965
https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/news/163-2021