Documenting Oral History of Development in the Comarca Ngäbé-Buglé, Panama

This project was suggested by the Congreso General de la Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, the political governing body of Panama’s largest indigenous group, the Ngäbe. We will be conducting a series of interviews to reconstruct an oral history about developments in the semi-autonomous indigenous comarca region and about the importance of this land. The intention is to preserve historic memory for future generations, to help in the creation of an education program in the comarca with a greater emphasis on Ngäbe history and culture, and to challenge the co-optation of history by corporations, political parties and the Panamanian state as a means to undermine Ngäbe sovereignty.

Project leader: Daviken Studnicki-Gizbert

Associated Research Themes: Customary Tenure; Visual Methodologies; Politics of Resource Extraction; Life Projects

Program Affiliation: INSTEAD