Indig Land Rights in S. Amer

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Over a century ago in Bolivia, Ava-Guarani leaders were able to gain land grants over their territories, though these land grants were meant to take the land away from them. Since then, most communities lost their records that proved possession of their homelands. The course will prepare students to search for these records and understand them. We will go to the National Archives in Sucre, Bolivia over Spring break and copy the land grant documents. After the return to Georgetown, the class will analyze these records and transform them into reports for the Ava-Guarani. We will then return to Bolivia where we will go to the indigenous territories on the Chaco frontier and provide the communities with the records they have lost. This will serve the Ava-Guarani to gain access to larger revenues from the oil companies that have been exploiting the land that the communities were unable to prove their possession. Prerequisite: Competency in written Spanish.