West, Bronx, NY 10468. The Huaorani, a recently contacted group of native South Americans, are vulnerable to the rapid loss of traditional knowledge pervasive among Amazonian indigenous groups. This tribe of 1,280 people in east Ecuador are taking an active role in the preservation of their cultural knowledge.
Classes promote sharing oral traditions and first-hand experiences of useful and medicinal plants.
Ethnobotanical field studies provide the Huaorani with scientific methods of preserving plants and associated knowledge. Both Huaorani youth and elders are taught how to keep methodological field notebooks and to press plants so as to increase scientific credibility of their ethnobotanical knowledge. Bilingual booklets provide a written record for all the Huaorani, while bridging language barriers for outsiders. Through this program, the Huaorani expect to revive interest in plant uses among the youth and preserve knowledge for the tribe. These studies elucidate the transmission of ethnobotanical knowledge and set a direction for further research with the Huaorani.