John Frechione

  Associate Director of the Center for Latin American Studies and
  Adjunct Associate Professor at the Department of Anthropology at the
University of Pittsburgh

Ph.D., Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh; 1981
* Dissertation: Economic Self-Development by Yekuana Amerinds in Southern Venezuela.

Graduate Certificate in Latin American Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, University of Pittsburgh; 1981

B.F.A., Fine Arts, Carnegie Mellon University; 1971

Foreign Language
* Spanish:  Speaking, good; Reading, good; Writing, fair

Parallel Experience
 

Jun 1999 - to date	Executive Director, Brazilian Studies Program, Center for Latin American Studies,  University of Pittsburgh
Jan 1998-to date	President, Western Pennsylvania Partners of the Americas, Pittsburgh, PA
Jul 1990-to date	Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences,  University of Pittsburgh
1987-to date	Editor, CLASicos, newsletter of the Center for Latin American Studies,  University of Pittsburgh
1986-to date	Chairman, Board of Directors, Western Pennsylvania Partners of the Americas,  Pittsburgh, PA
1983-to date	Research Associate, Section of Anthropology,  Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA
1983-1986 and 1989	Managing Editor, Cuban Studies/Estudios Cubanos, biannual journal,  Center for Latin American Studies, University of Pittsburgh

Grant Administration Experience
 

1993-to date	Project Director, Latin American Social and Public Policy Program,  The Howard Heinz Endowment, Alcoa Foundation, Mine Safety Appliances Company Charitable Foundation
1993-to date	Grant Coordinator, Latin American Archaeology Program,  The Howard Heinz Endowment and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
1987-to date	Project Coordinator, The Tinker Foundation, Inc. Institutional Field Research Grants Program
jul 1990-jun 1992	Project Coordinator, "Research and Publication Project on the Impact of Soviet and East European Reforms on Cuba and Their Consequences for US Foreign Policy in Latin America,"  Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Grant ($248,000)
1988-1994	Project Director and Program Coordinator, Research Grants on Current Latin American Issues, Center for Latin American Studies, University of Pittsburgh, and The Howard Heinz Endowment

Areas of Topical and Regional Specialization

Cultural Ecology, Tribal Societies, Ethnography and History of the South American Tropical Forest Populations, Economic Development and Social Change, Tropical Agriculture, Latin America, Amazonia

Courses Taught

Amerindians, Environment, and Development in Amazonia (People and Environment in Amazonia);
Ecology and Culture;
Tribal Societies;
Introduction to Anthropology;
Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology

Research Projects
 

Jul-Aug 1993	Indigenous Community Organization by the Yekuana of Southern Venezuela in Response to Western Expansion: The Current Situation.  Funded by the ALCOA Foundation and the Hewlett Foundation.
Jun-Jul 1988	An investigation of indigenous and environmental policies in Venezuela.  Funded by The Tinker Foundation, Inc.
Jun-Nov 1988	Baseline Study: Honduras Small Farmer Organizations Strengthening Project.  Member of University of Pittsburgh team under subcontract from the World Council of Credit Unions, Inc. Project funded by USAID.
Jul-Aug 1985	An investigation of change and stability among the Yekuana Indians, Federal Territory of Amazonas, Venezuela (update of 1977-78 research).  Funded by Center for Latin American Studies/University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh.
Jul 1982	Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History field trip to the Canadian Arctic, to collect biological and ethnological data for an exhibition on Central Canadian Inuit.  Funded by National Endowment for the Humanities.
Oct 1977-Nov 1978	An investigation of tropical agricultural development among the Yekuana Indians, Federal Territory of Amazonas, Venezuela.  Funded by Fulbright-Hays.

Research Grants and Financial Support
 

Jul-Aug 1993	University of Pittsburgh Center for Latin American Studies Faculty Research Grant (ALCOA Foundation)
Jul-Aug 1993	University of Pittsburgh Center for International Studies Hewlett International Small Grant
Jun-Jul 1988	Tinker Foundation, Inc. Field Research Grant
Jul-Aug 1985	University of Pittsburgh Center for Latin American Studies Faculty Research Grant
Jan-Aug 1982	Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Section of Man, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Oct 1977-Sep 1978	Fulbright-Hays Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Grant No. 1069-710478
Sep 1975-Dec 1976	Title VI Fellowship, NDEA, US Department of Education

Exhibit Work
 

1985	Consultant, temporary exhibition on Tropical Rain Forests, section on indigenous agricultural systems,  Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
1985	Catalog Designer, "Contemporary Art of the Dominican Republic," Center for Latin American Studies,  University of Pittsburgh
1984	Scientific Consultant and Project Co-Coordinator, "Spirits of the Rain Forest" (a temporary exhibit on the Yanomamo Indians of Brazil),  Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
1983	Scientific Consultant, "Peungitoo" (a film on Eskimos),  Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1983	Consultant, Polar World Exhibit, Section of Man,  Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Reviewer for Professional Journals

Ethnology; Journal of Human Ecology; Human Organization; Current Anthropology

Membership in Professional Organizations

American Anthropological Association, Cultural Survival, Society for Latin American Anthropology

In Press:

Author "From Conflict to Cooperation: Spanish-Amerindian Relations on the Orinoco River, 1531-1760," Antropológica (Caracas, Venezuela)

Edited Volumes/Monographs:

1999 Traditional and Modern Natural Resource Management in Latin America (Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press) (coeditor with Francisco J. Pichón and Jorge E. Uquillas).

1997 Indigenous People and Development in Latin America: A Literature Survey and Recommendations. Latin American Monograph and Document Series # 12 (A Joint Publication of the Center for Latin American Studies, University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh, and The World Bank, Latin America and Caribbean Region, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Sector Management Unit) (with J. Montgomery Roper and Billie R. DeWalt).

1988 "Cooperatives in Honduras: A Baseline Study."  Report prepared for the World Council of Credit Unions, Inc. (Madison, Wisconsin, 30 November) (with M.A. Seligson, M.B. Rosenberg, H. Correa, D. Kincaid, R. Moncarz, L. Rodríguez, and K.M. Scott).

1983 (Editorial Assistant and Scientific Editor) Arctic Life:  Challenge to Survive.  M.M. Jacobs and J.B. Richardson, eds.  Pittsburgh:  Carnegie Institute.

Articles in Edited Volumes:

1999 "Introduction," in F.J. Pichón, J.E. Uquillas, and J. Frechione (eds.), Traditional and Modern Natural Resource Management in Latin America (Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.

1999 "The Root and the Problem: Cassava Toxicity and Diffusion to Africa," in L. Plotnicov and R. Scaglion (eds.), Consequences of Cultivar Diffusion (Ethnology Monographs 17, Pittsburgh, PA: Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh).

1991 "Sistemas indígenas agrícolas de tala y quema en la amazonia: El conuco Yekuana en el sur de Venezuela," in J.J. San José and J. Celecia (eds.), Enfoques de Ecología Humana Aplicados a los Sistemas Agrícolas Tradicionales del Trópico Americano (Caracas: Centro Internacional de Ecología Tropical/UNESCO, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas), pp. 295-372.

1989 "The Perception of Ecological Zones and Natural Resources in the Brazilian Amazon: An Ethnoecology of Lake Coari" (with D. Posey and L. Francelino da Silva), in D.A. Posey and W. Balée (eds.), Resource Management in Amazonia: Indigenous and Folk Strategies (Advances in Economic Botany, Volume 7), pp. 260-282.  Bronx, NY: The New York Botanical Garden.

1988 "An Advanced International Studies Center," in A. Dinniman and B. Holzner (eds.), Education for International Competence in Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Department of Education and University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh).

Articles in Peer Review Journals:

1990 "Supervillage Formation in the Amazonian Terra Firme: The Case of Asenöña," Ethnology XXIX (2):117-133.

1985 "Union Makiritare del Alto Ventuari: Autodeterminación por Los Indios Yekuana en el sur de Venezuela," Montalban (Caracas, Venezuela) 16:7-46.

[1985] "Manioc Monozoning in Yekuana Agriculture," Antropológica (Caracas, Venezuela) 58 (1982):53-74.  (Although this volume is dated 1982, it actually appeared in October 1985.)

1984 "Ethnoecology as Applied Anthropology in Amazonian Development," Human Organization 43 (2):95-107 (with D. Posey, J. Eddins, and L. Francelino da Silva).

1983 "Resource Exploitation in Amazonia: Ethnoecological Examples from Four Populations," Annals of Carnegie Museum 52(8):163-203 (with D. Posey, L. Francelino da Silva, and S. Parker).

1981 "Intensity of Cultivation and Kin Group Discreteness among Tropical Shifting Cultivators," Behavior Science Research 16(1):27-50 (with R. Scaglion).

Solicited Articles:

[1989] "Hacia la autogestión indígena en el sur de Venezuela: de UMAV hasta CEPAI," Boletin Indigenista Venezolano (Caracas, Venezuela) Tomo XXI, No. 19 (1982/ 1983/1984):153-169.  (Although this volume is dated 1982/83/84, it actually appeared in 1989.)

1984 "The Yekuana of Southern Venezuela: Political and Economic Self-Determination," Cultural Survival Quarterly 8(4):22-25.

1984 "Ventuari Voyage," Carnegie Magazine LVII(5):27-35.

Book Reviews:

2000 "Review of The Origins of Agriculture in the Lowland Neotropics by Dolores R. Piperno and Deborah M. Pearsall (San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1998)," American Anthropologist 102(1):168-169.

1999 "Review of Selva Central: History, Economy, and Land Use in Peruvian Amazonia by Fernando Santos-Granero and Frederica Barclay (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998)," Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 24(48):292-294.

1991 "Review of The Human Ecology of Tropical Land Settlement in Latin America edited by Debra A. Schumann and William L. Partridge," American Anthropologist 93(3):710-711.

1988 "Review of Tobacco and Shamanism in South America by Johannes Wilbert," American Anthropologist 90(3):711-712.

1986 "A Reference Manual for Indigenous Self-Determiners in the Americas" (Review of Indians of the Americas: Human Rights and Self-Determination by R.D. Ortiz)," Reviews in Anthropology 13(3):241-247.

1998 - The Root of the Problem: Cassava Toxicity in Amazonia and Central Africa.  Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (Invited Session: Significant Consequences of Cultigen Diffusion), Philadelphia, PA, 5 December.

1996 - Co-Presenter, "Indigenous People and Development in Latin America: A Literature Survey and Recommendations."  Report prepared for the Environment Division (LATEN), Technical Department, Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Office, The World Bank.  The World Bank, Washington DC, 16 September.

1996 - Their Daily Bread: Manioc Cultivation and Processing by Yekuana Amerindians in Southern Venezuela.  Presented at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 16 October.

1996 - Faculty Member, Caribbean Seminar at Sea, Institute of Shipboard Education; presented lectures on "Caribbean Prehistory," "Amerindian-European Contact in the Caribbean," and "Slash-and-Burn Manioc Agriculture in Venezuela and the Caribbean."   18 January-1 February 1996.

1994 - Co-Chair and Co-Organizer, Workshop on "Human Rights Issues and Contemporary Adaptive Strategies among Venezuelan Indigenous Peoples."  Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Atlanta, Georgia, 2 December.

1993 - Co-Chair and Co-Organizer, Workshop on "Venezuelan Indians and Their Strategies for Survival."  Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Washington, DC, 20 November.

1992 - Slash-and-Burn Cultivation as an Adaptation to the Amazonian Rain Forest.  Presented at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History as part of its Cultural Adaptations to the Environment Series, Pittsburgh, PA, 22 October.

1991 - Co-Chair and Co-Organizer, Workshop on "The Past, Present and Prospects for the Future of the Indigenous Peoples of Venezuela."  Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Chicago, Illinois, 22 November.

1991 - Amerindians and Environmentalism in Amazonia.  Presented at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA, 21 February.

1990 - Development and Self-Development in Southern Venezuela.  Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (Session: Development and Amazonian Forest Peoples), New Orleans, LA, 29 November.

1990 - Facilitator, Group on "Indigenous Self-Development in Amazonia," University of Pittsburgh/Cornell University Consortium Workshop on Environmental Conservation Intervention in Latin America, Ithaca, NY, 9-11 November.

1989 - Coordinator, Workshop, "The Neotropical Rainforest: What Next?", University of Pittsburgh/ Cornell University Consortium Workshop, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 27 July.

1988 - Indigenous and Environmental Policies in Amazonia: The Venezuelan Situation.  Center for Latin American Studies Lecture Series, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 29 Nov.

1988 - Sistemas Indígenas Agrícolas de Tala y Quema en Amazonia: El Sistema Yekuana en el Sur de Venezuela.  Taller Regional Sobre Enfoques de Ecología Humana Aplicados a los Sistemas Agrícolas Tradicionales del Tropico Americano, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas, Caracas, Venezuela, 3-8 October.

1987 - Moderator, Symposium, "Tropical Forests: Going, Going, . . .?," Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA, 7 November.

1986 - The Politics of Indigenous Self-Development in Venezuela.  Center for Latin American Studies Lecture Series, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 13 February.

1985 - An Ethnoecology of Lake Coari.  Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (Session: Natural Resource Management by Indigenous and Folk Societies in Amazonia), Washington, DC, 8 December.

1985 - Traditional and Contemporary Yekuana Adaptive Strategies in the Tropical Forest/ Savanna Region of Southern Venezuela.  National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution Conference on "Tropical Forest Conservation:  What can be done?  What can we do?" (Session:  Cultural Parks and Indigenous Agriculture), Washington, DC, 4 December.

1984 - Cattle Herding:  An Economic Strategy for Indigenous Self-Development in Amazonia.  Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (Session:  Anthropological Contributions to Development Projects), Denver, Colorado.

1983 - Chair, Session on Development, Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Chicago, Illinois.

1983 - Political and Economic Self-Determination by Yekuana Amerinds in Southern Venezuela.  Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (Session:  Development), Chicago, Illinois.

1982 - The Political Implications of Economic Self-Development in the Amazon Basin.  Presented at Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio.

1979 - The Development of Manioc Dependence in Amazonia.  Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (Panel:  Ecological Analyses of Economic and Political Structures).  Cincinnati, Ohio.

1979 - The Dynamics of Agricultual Development in Three Tropical Areas (with D. W. Hess and R. Scaglion).  Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting (Session:  Third World Development).  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1978 - Intensity of Cultivation and Kin Group Restrictiveness among Tropical Shifting Cultivators (with R. Scaglion).  Society for Cross-Cultural Research Annual Meeting (Session:  Holocultural Tests of Aspects of Social Structure).  New Haven, Connecticut.