Heritage and Territoriality: Past, present, and future perceptions among the Tacana, Tsimane’, Mosetén and Waiwai

About this Website

On this website, you can find basic information about the project, its objectives, ethical principles, the institutions, the people involved and about the four Indigenous peoples of the Amazon who participate in it.

This website also provides an overview of the theoretical framework and methodological approach used in the research and includes a description of ongoing activities, workshops, and meetings. The ethnographic collections in European museums linked to this research can also be found here.

About the project

The project analyzes the complexities of the cultural heritage of the Tacana, Tsimane', Mosetén, and Waiwai Indigenous peoples, and its relationship with their perceptions of time, space, local knowledge, and the defense of their territories while considering the pressures and threats that loom over these Indigenous peoples and local communities.

Ecological, cultural, and historical differences and similarities between the four participating Indigenous peoples have been highlighted while addressing heritage issues from specific and comparative perspectives. The project is funded by the Volkswagen Foundation as part of the "Global Issues-Integrating Different Perspectives on Heritage and Change" program and is expected to run until 2025.

The project holds at its core a collective, holistic, and transdisciplinary understanding that reflects an ontological dialogue between local indigenous communal researchers and Western specialists in cultural and natural heritage (archaeologists, anthropologists, biologists, and museologists), conceptualizing new ways of learning collectively and introducing Indigenous approaches in a fruitful dialogue with western heritage practices and notions.

The research seeks to contribute to the reconceptualization of heritage from a cross-cultural dialogue, build new theoretical frameworks for conservation, protection, museumization, and the diffusion of heritage at different levels: local, national, and global, understanding that heritage processes have dynamic, social, political, and economic repercussions among all societies involved.

Theoretical framework and methodological approach of the project

The project reflects the contributions of decolonial theory, which emphasizes the transformative power of indigenous knowledge systems. This type of research is committed to the sovereignty and self-determination of Indigenous peoples and local communities /or nations in all investigations of their territories, histories, and knowledge. A collaborative methodology results in projects with flexible agendas and research problems of interest and benefit to the communities involved. In addition, decolonial research considers culturally sensitive methodologies that focus on respecting and protecting indigenous knowledge, as well as creating safe spaces of mutual trust based on honest and transparent communication. This approach implies a process of mutual monitoring in which our practices can serve and support local needs. Simultaneously, academic notions and concepts are revised and enriched by other epistemologies and ontologies.

The project proposes a round-trip route, Western researchers visiting the territories of the Tacana, Mosetén, Tsimane', and Waiwai Indigenous peoples, and Indigenous researchers visiting museums in Germany (Berlin, Frankfurt, and Dresden) and Sweden (Gothenburg), where the largest collections of their peoples' materials are located.  generate critical reflections within the museums and the Indigenous peoples. In 2023, a tour route, a catalog of the collections, and a document about the history of the indigenous peoples will be prepared. Communal researchers will meet with museum staff in 2024 to discuss different topics and exchange information and experiences about the collections and their cultural significance. To involve the communities in this experience, villagers not traveling to the museums will participate virtually in real-time through video calls or film presentations shown in film series for each indigenous territory.

The transdisciplinary approach of the project allows us to bring together and understand different notions of natural and cultural heritage, territory, and territoriality, as well as the material and immaterial dimensions of the past, present, and future of the Amazon, through a dialogue that influences its dynamics.

Project duration: 2022 - 2025

Funding: Volkswagenstiftung - Ausschreibung "Globale Herausforderungen - Integration unterschiedlicher Perspektiven zu Erbe und Wandel" 

Cooperations: WCS Bolivien, UFAM Brasilien, NEAI Brasilien, UFOPA Brasilien, UFSC Brasilien,  PUC-MG Brasilien, UNICAMP Brasilien, UNIR Brasilien, CIPTA Bolivien, OCITB Bolivien, CRTM Bolivien, UCh Chile