Laura Zanotti, Anthropology

Contact lcz@u.washington.edu

Ethnocartography and field guides for an Amerindian Community

The goal of this project is to prepare and complete field
guides and community maps for an indigenous group in the Central
Brazilian Amazon. Many indigenous groups are attempting to defend
their homelands, but are lacking with the basic multilingual materials
to discuss their knowledge in the framework of conservation practices.
 The distribution of communication tools, like ethnobiological guides,
would benefit communities through giving them the technical vocabulary
necessary for discussing their traditional ecological knowledge in
professional and political contexts.  It also would provide written
documentation and educational materials for teaching and transmitting
local knowledge among community members.