An environmental and cultural heritage curriculum can promote social justice and contribute to the health and wellness of indigenous communities

This paper addresses several concerns embedded in a post-colonial formal education system as they relate to indigenous knowledge and practices in a Belize community. One concern relates to the United Nations Millennium Goal of universal primary education. The focus of this goal is on formal education; yet indigenous knowledge and practices in Belize are traditionally transmitted through informal educational practices.

The absence of traditional environmental knowledge and practices in the formal curriculum reinforces the idea that indigenous knowledge is primitive and in need of improvement. This devaluation of traditional knowledge impacts the health and well-being of Maya communities in Belize, as traditional agricultural practices and the collecting of food from the forest are closely linked to Maya identity and define Maya livelihoods. These traditional practices – in addition to promoting the physical health of people in the community – also solidify familial and social relationships. The overall health of the community, then, is closely tied to the maintenance of traditional environmental practices.

The discussion in this paper references the work of the Toledo Environmental and Cultural Heritage Alliance (TEACHA) -- comprised of educators, community members, researchers, and activists – in designing and implementing an environmental and cultural heritage curriculum for integration into primary schools in the Toledo district of Belize. This curriculum provides students in a formal education setting with lessons that present traditional environmental knowledge as an addition and enhancement of science, math, and history, while also adding value to traditional knowledge by being useful in the present.

Perpetuating environmental and cultural heritage knowledge in the schools provides opportunities for students to reach their full potential within their environment and equips them with tools needed to address potential threats to their desired ways of life. An environmental and cultural heritage curriculum, then, can contribute in a positive way to the health and wellness of the community while also promoting social justice.