Fresh Banana Leaves

Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science

By: Jessica Hernandez Ph.D.

Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez

A 2022 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist in Science & Technology

An Indigenous environmental scientist breaks down why western conservationism isn't working--and offers Indigenous models informed by case studies, personal stories, and family histories that center the voices of Latin American women and land protectors.

Despite the undeniable fact that Indigenous communities are among the most affected by climate devastation, Indigenous science is nowhere to be found in mainstream environmental policy or discourse. And while holistic land, water, and forest management practices born from millennia of Indigenous knowledge systems have much to teach all of us, Indigenous science has long been ignored, otherized, or perceived as "soft"--the product of a systematic, centuries-long campaign of racism, colonialism, extractive capitalism, and delegitimization.

Here, Jessica Hernandez--Maya Ch'orti' and Zapotec environmental scientist and founder of environmental agency Piña Soul--introduces and contextualizes Indigenous environmental knowledge and proposes a vision of land stewardship that heals rather than displaces, that generates rather than destroys. She breaks down the failures of western-defined conservatism and shares alternatives, citing the restoration work of urban Indigenous people in Seattle; her family's fight against ecoterrorism in Latin America; and holistic land management approaches of Indigenous groups across the continent.

Through case studies, historical overviews, and stories that center the voices and lived experiences of Indigenous Latin American women and land protectors, Hernandez makes the case that if we're to recover the health of our planet--for everyone--we need to stop the eco-colonialism ravaging Indigenous lands and restore our relationship with Earth to one of harmony and respect.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Jessica Hernandez (P)2022 North Atlantic Books

Critic reviews

"Westerners, [Dr. Hernandez] writes, fall short on including Indigenous people in environmental dialogues and deny them the social and economic resources necessary to recover from 'land theft, cultural loss, and genocide' and to prepare for the future effects of climate change." (Publishers Weekly)

“In Fresh Banana Leaves, Jessica Hernandez weaves personal, historical, and environmental narratives to offer us a passionate and powerful call to increase our awareness and to take responsibility for caring for Mother Earth.” A must-read for anyone interested in Indigenous environmental perspectives.” (Emil’ Keme, K’iche’Maya Nation, member of the Ixbalamke Junajpu Winaq’ Collective)

“A groundbreaking book that busts existing frameworks about how we think about Indigeneity, science, and environmental policy. A must-read for practitioners and theorists alike.” (Sandy Grande, professor of political science and Native American and Indigenous studies, University of Connecticut)

Important message but highly repetitive

I loved listening to Dr. Jessica’ Hernandez’s story and passion for this space. I know it’s a huge and important issue and her intersection between her academic work and indigenous is amazing (though academia is naturally very colonized.) I did find at least a half a down times in the book where she repeat the same information multiple times not just to drive a point but as if it wasn’t mentioned prior? I do wish she provided more organizations and resource to support displaced indigenous people. I know that’s not her job and there are bigger and bigger powers at play :(

A perspective that deserved to be heard!

This was a wonderful listen, I was so grateful to hear the authors perspective and the interviews of other indigenous people. I appreciated that the author acknowledged and rejected anti-Black racism in the front and end of the book. And that the Jessica recognized Black people as indigenous as well.
The stories about what different family members experienced held so much weight. Especially to hear how Jessica's Father's experiences impacted them both immensely.
This book demonstrates, unequivocally, to the Audience that Indigenous wisdom and sciences are valid and vital.

Extremely important book. Required reading for environmental scientists.

Hernandez provides an extremely detailed, yet easy to follow, breakdown of how colonialism, white supremacy, and patriarchy have shaped and continue to influence the lives of everyone in the Americas. She provides historical examples, stories of relatives and neighbors, and personal accounts to illustrate the truths of her lived experience for those of us who can choose to ignore these systems if we wish. If you are an environmental scientist, policy maker, or just a person who cares, you should read this book.

Scolding tone not ideal for a reader!

The reader sounds like she’s scolding you most of the time. I was reading and listening to the book, going back and forth, so the awfulness of the reader was apparent. The book content is at times enlightening, particularly the kind of warrior stance the author takes in defense of herself and the land. Other books on this topic are much more well polished than this one, but some of the rawness here is a strength. Other parts of it make sections hard to get through.

Moved like the nice warm wind!

I thoroughly enjoyed the book from beginning to end. I really love how Dr. Hernandez's storytelling moved me to tears, both happy and sad. It was a wonderful insight into her passion for the environment and humanity.

Books that heal

This book has allowed me to put words to my feelings on the environmental advocacy movement. We need to see it as holistic always. We are all connected and need to acknowledge ancestral learning as the science of generations of people practicing culture and rituals.

There are many repetitive stories within the book but I think the author wanted to emphasize them and the people, perhaps a bilingual editor can help with how to do this without the repetition of stories and words. As a Spanish speaker it feels like that’s how stories are told in Spanish, but don’t work that well in English.
But don’t get me wrong this book was amazing and made me cry and smile and learn. It has everything. Thank you for this much needed book. Look forward to more.

Fascinating. Essential… but Disorganized

This books was a treasure trove of insight into the problems faced by indigenous communities throughout the Americas. Unfortunately, like a Pirate’s treasure, the valuable insights are hidden away where only the dedicated can find them.

Whole chapters of this book feel as though they are just rehashing the same complaints the author had in the same language without adding any value. I listened to some chapters twice just to ensure I was not missing some hidden point that had not yet been discussed. It was almost always the case that I was caught in the same diatribe against Western academia, which I’m sure was extremely frustrating for the author. This being said, there are diminishing returns on the discussion. Funny enough, it was the third passage in which she rails against the Western hegemony and its theft of indigenous intellectual property where the authors point finally hit. However, before and after this particular iteration simply felt like a cathartic rant more than an informative discussion or a new perspective. Yes, academia is racist. Yes, it is problematic. The horse is dead!!

While a few other points were repeated excessively, none were discussed as nauseam like this point. It is too bad, as I’m sure this will discourage many readers from sticking through to read the sections about the distinctions between wholistic perspectives of indigenous tribes, prejudice amongst and between Latin and indigenous cultures and intersectionality and sexism in revolutionary movements. There is so much, incredible and invaluable information in this text!! It just needs a bit of restructuring to make it more accessible.

Mediocre

Hernandez has some an overall decent analysis of the lived experiences of indigenous peoples in Mexico and Central America but the book is peppered with some questionable and even pretentious interpretations of what it means to be decolonize, particularly her cognitive dissonance in denying brown “Latinos” decolonization bunching them up with Europeans while affirming that African Americans are indigenous. A strange take at best.

Must read for any science teacher

As a person who is not Indigenous and not a scientist, I found this book to be accessible, deeply informative, and generously written. I work in teacher education and language justice led by displaced community members and have already suggested this book or to do a group study circle with so many people. I think high school science teachers would be able to use this book with their students and it could be a game changer for many. Thank you for everything offered up in this book.

Making soup, not a sandwich

So this is a generally uncomfortable read, but the climate crisis is also uncomfortable. This feeling is in part of facing the issues that colonialism created and that there is no clear action plan. It seems like the main purpose Dr. Hernandez is imparting is how intersectionality through Indigenous science is all in compassing and thus, doesn't have a "do X to fix Y." To fix our planet is going to have to be a long series of different plans working together, This is why the book is also a history dive of the Americas its all connected and it has to be understood to help fix the problems that are unique to the Americas, I see how people think shes repeating her point over and over again, and I felt that too, the thing is the point is brought back up to add another layer of nuance to the complexity of the point itself. So if we pause and think it over, the message Dr. Hernandez is making is like a good soup made from scratch. It's seemingly simple but it requires a lot of parts working together and then cooked over a long and caring time.