Dignity, Heritage, and Indigenous Lands

This grant will support activities related to an ongoing research project in Tanzania, which explores the concepts of dignity and heritage in Maasai lifeworlds, in relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and similar target-based policy initiatives. The Tanzanian part of this multi-sited project, centers Maasai critiques of universal human rights, heritage, and development frameworks, which have profoundly impacted the lives and livelihoods of Maasai people, along with those of many other indigenous and place-based communities around the world. More importantly, this research points to alternative Maasai frameworks and practices, grounded in dignity and heritage concepts, which are communal, relational, place-based, and ecological. Two of the Tanzanian project collaborators will visit UVa in Spring of 23, creating opportunities for interdisciplinary conversations and collaborations with a diverse group of faculty and students here at UVa.