Who is Amazonia? The ‘salt of the matter’ for indigenous sustainability
The recent article ‘Ash salts and bodily affects: Witoto environmental knowledge as sexual education’ (Echeverri and Román-Jitdutjaãno 2013 Environ. Res. Lett. 8 015008) considers indigenous people and their distinctive knowledge systems in the western Amazon. These complex systems provide richly de...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2013-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/041007 |
| _version_ | 1797748047783919616 |
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| author | Michael Heckenberger |
| author_facet | Michael Heckenberger |
| author_sort | Michael Heckenberger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The recent article ‘Ash salts and bodily affects: Witoto environmental knowledge as sexual education’ (Echeverri and Román-Jitdutjaãno 2013 Environ. Res. Lett. 8 015008) considers indigenous people and their distinctive knowledge systems in the western Amazon. These complex systems provide richly detailed practical knowledge about life in these tropical forests, which today many see as well populated and rich in cultural heritage. Through a careful analysis of ash salts and salt-making and the technologies and bodily affects associated with it, the authors suggest native Amazonian peoples see environmental knowledge not in terms of natural resources but instead how they interact with and produce human bodies in social networks, as a form of sexual education and, by extension, public health. It also highlights the critical importance of social relations as part of research, and the politics of nature, with important implications for contemporary debate and research on biodiversity, sustainability, climate change and human rights, specifically what types of agreements are entailed in scientific research that is not only robust but socially responsible. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:59:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-27af0dd0344e49b19dab092dca839ccc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:59:21Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-27af0dd0344e49b19dab092dca839ccc2023-08-09T14:40:58ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262013-01-018404100710.1088/1748-9326/8/4/041007Who is Amazonia? The ‘salt of the matter’ for indigenous sustainabilityMichael Heckenberger0Department of Anthropology, University of Florida , Gainesville, FL 32605, USAThe recent article ‘Ash salts and bodily affects: Witoto environmental knowledge as sexual education’ (Echeverri and Román-Jitdutjaãno 2013 Environ. Res. Lett. 8 015008) considers indigenous people and their distinctive knowledge systems in the western Amazon. These complex systems provide richly detailed practical knowledge about life in these tropical forests, which today many see as well populated and rich in cultural heritage. Through a careful analysis of ash salts and salt-making and the technologies and bodily affects associated with it, the authors suggest native Amazonian peoples see environmental knowledge not in terms of natural resources but instead how they interact with and produce human bodies in social networks, as a form of sexual education and, by extension, public health. It also highlights the critical importance of social relations as part of research, and the politics of nature, with important implications for contemporary debate and research on biodiversity, sustainability, climate change and human rights, specifically what types of agreements are entailed in scientific research that is not only robust but socially responsible.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/041007AmazoniaIndigenous KnowledgeSustainabilityCollaborative ApproachesContext-sensitive research |
| spellingShingle | Michael Heckenberger Who is Amazonia? The ‘salt of the matter’ for indigenous sustainability Environmental Research Letters Amazonia Indigenous Knowledge Sustainability Collaborative Approaches Context-sensitive research |
| title | Who is Amazonia? The ‘salt of the matter’ for indigenous sustainability |
| title_full | Who is Amazonia? The ‘salt of the matter’ for indigenous sustainability |
| title_fullStr | Who is Amazonia? The ‘salt of the matter’ for indigenous sustainability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Who is Amazonia? The ‘salt of the matter’ for indigenous sustainability |
| title_short | Who is Amazonia? The ‘salt of the matter’ for indigenous sustainability |
| title_sort | who is amazonia the salt of the matter for indigenous sustainability |
| topic | Amazonia Indigenous Knowledge Sustainability Collaborative Approaches Context-sensitive research |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/041007 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT michaelheckenberger whoisamazoniathesaltofthematterforindigenoussustainability |