#  Paola Andrea Sanchez-Castaneda 

Postdoctoral Fellow, Religion and Indigenous Plant Medicine Traditions of the Americas

 

 

 



   ![Andrea Castaneda smiling into the camera](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/2024-09/Andrea%20Sanchez%20Castaneda_photo.jpeg?itok=eFvPxKMN) 

 



 

 email <psanchez@hds.harvard.edu> 

 



 

Paola Andrea Sánchez-Castañeda is a cultural anthropologist working in the fields of critical indigenous studies and urban environmental studies, particularly in Latin America. Her research focuses on the ontological dimensions of indigeneity, territory, nature, and the sacred of the Muysca of Suba, an urban indigenous community located in Bogotá, Colombia, with whom she has collaborated throughout her master’s and doctoral research for more than eight years. Andrea earned her PhD in global and sociocultural studies—anthropology track, and her MA in religious studies from Florida International University, and she has been a member of the Global Indigenous Forum (GIF) at the same institution.

During her postdoctoral fellowship at CSWR, Andrea will work collaboratively with the Muysca community to document the use of sacred plant medicines and their vital role in the process of indigenous revitalization and territorial defense in the city of Bogota.