Tradition, Change and Land Rights: Land Use and Territorial Strategies Among the Piaroa
Author(s)
Freire, Germ-n
Abstract
This article explores the issues of land use and territoriality in Amazonian societies undergoing culture change. During the last decades, discussions on indigenous peoples’ land rights in Amazonia have focused on the relations between traditional societies and their environments, emphasizing aspects of environmental conservation and neglecting the value of their responses to social change and market production. This article argues that these responses are essential for advancing viable land tenure and development policies in indigenous territories. In particular, this article documents the strategies developed by the Piaroa, a people of the Middle Orinoco, in transition.
