Fresh Banana Leaves Dr. Jessica Hernandez Ep. 57

Indigenous people make up 5 percent of the global population and steward 80 percent of the world's biodiversity, yet they aren’t centered in most discussions or actions for environmental justice. An Indigenous woman and scientist, Dr. Jessica Hernandez talks about the importance of Indigenous science (and scientists) in her new book Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes through Indigenous Science. In this conversation, Jessica talks about the importance of Indigenous-led stewardship projects, Black-Indigenous solidarity, and shares the moving story of how she came to the book’s title. SHOW NOTES: 1:51 | The difference between an interdisciplinary scientist and an Indigenous scientist 3:50 | What is Indigenous science? 5:50 | Indigenous people support 80% of the world’s biodiversity 10:15 | Conservation as a Western construct and the trouble with the original concept of National Parks 12:44 | The importance of #LandBack and Indigenous-led stewardship projects 17:49 | The impact of banana plantations in Central America 22:30 | The title of the book and the personal impact of war in El Salvador DIG DEEPER: To learn more about Dr. Jessica Hernandez, visit her site https://www.jessicabhernandez.com/ Follow Jessica on Twitter: https://twitter.com/doctora_nature Buy the book: https://bookshop.org/books/fresh-banana-leaves-healing-indigenous-landscapes-through-indigenous-science For more on this episode, expanded show notes, and full transcript, visit: https://realfoodmedia.org/portfolio/fresh-banana-leaves/ Join the Real Food Reads book club: https://realfoodmedia.org/programs/real-food-reads/ Become a Patreon supporter for early access to our episodes and premium content with the authors here https://www.patreon.com/realfoodmedia