Doctoral Dissertation Research: Articulations of Local Indigenous Ecology, Identity, and History

University Of Virginia Main Campus, Charlottesville VA

Investigators

Abstract

Nature parks often harbor both indigenous people with historic land claims and plants and animals also considered native to those spaces. The relationship between the two is usually complementary. However, biologists charged with protecting natural areas may find that globally developed policies and approaches to conservation conflict with those of the traditional local residents. The research supported by this award investigates the underlying processes that define indigeneity of plants and people, the reasons for divergences between local and global preservation approaches, and how the two might be sustainably reconciled. The research will be carried out by University of Virginia anthropology doctoral student, Johnathan P. Favini, with the oversight of Dr. James J. Igoe. The researcher has chosen to conduct the research among Jamaica's Maroon population, descendants of fugitive Taino and African people who built communities in the jungled interior. In the 2000s, the forests adjacent to these communities were opened to bauxite mining, This has brought Maroons into increasing engagement with conservationists. This situation provides an excellent research opportunity to investigate how Maroons and conservationists negotiate their different approaches to ecosystem protection. The researcher will undertake 12 months of ethnographic research with local and international scientists, as well as in four Maroon communities. He will collect data through interviews, participant observation, and analysis of policy reports and media accounts. Findings from this research will inform policy makers who must find ways to negotiate with divergent indigenous and scientific groups. The research will also help anthropologists and biologists improve theoretical understanding of indigeneity. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.