We’ve all made our fair share of bad decisions in life. Sometimes our poor decisions have insignificant consequences that can potentially be remediated. But in more extreme cases, poor decisions can incur large costs, waste resources and time, and have lasting undesirable impacts. So why are poor decisions made, and how can we avoid them?
Living in the Tz’utujil Maya community of Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala, I’ve learned a lot about the delicate balance between indigenous livelihoods and nature, and the role of outsiders in the picture.
When Danielle Hill, a citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe of Massachusetts and one of the tribal leaders, heard the news that the Department of the Interior revoked the trust status of their land, she was in shock. The 321 acres of land on Cape Cod owned by the tribe was subject to a series …