Embodying Ecological Heritage in a Maya Community

Health, Happiness, and Identity
Embodying Ecological Heritage in a Maya Community is a rich ethnography detailing how ecological heritage practices are central to life and health in a Maya community. It clearly illuminates the more nuanced effects of development processes, including land rights, healthcare access, and education access.
Embodying Ecological Heritage in a Maya Community: Health, Happiness, and Identity provides an ethnographic account of life in a rural farming village in southern Belize, focusing on the connections between traditional ecological practices and the health and wellness of the Maya community living there. It discusses how complex histories, ecologies, and development practices are negotiated by individuals of all ages, and the community at large, detailing how they interact with their changing environments. The study has wide applicability for indigenous communities fighting for rights to manage their lands across the globe, as well as for considering how health is connected to heritage practices in communities worldwide.