“In a way, Western science compartmentalizes a lot of the information through those boxes or as I say, through those puzzle pieces. Indigenous science looks at the entire picture to formulate our information and our questions.” In this episode, we welcome Dr. Jessica Hernandez, a transnational Indigenous scholar, scientist, and community advocate based in the Pacific Northwest. Her work is grounded in her Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing. She advocates for climate, energy, and environmental justice through her scientific and community work and strongly believes that Indigenous sciences can heal our Indigenous lands. Jessica is the author of the newly published Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes through Indigenous Science. (The musical offering in this episode is Debt by Luna Bec.) Support our community-powered show: GreenDreamer.com/support

352) Jessica Hernandez: Healing with Indigenous science and holistic thinking

Green Dreamer explores our paths to collective healing, biocultural revitalization, and true abundance and wellness *for all*.

Curious to unravel the dominant narratives that stunt our imaginations and called to spark radical dreaming of what could be, we share conversations with an ever-expanding range of thought leaders — each inspiring us to deepen and broaden our awareness in their own ways.

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What could it mean to heal our relationship with the dead, the decaying, and the dark in order to move towards more liveable futures? What possibilities might arise when we shift from cultural narratives of fear, discomfort, and disgust with these unseen worlds — to ones which honor the wisdoms that they may be able to offer? In this episode, Perdita Finn draws on her book Take Back the Magic to invite us to find kinship and guidance from beings that have passed. Through a renewal of ancient practices and rituals, Finn invokes the reclamation of our bodies, inner wisdom, and personal mantras that keep us whole and grounded during the troubled times of modernity. Subscribe and listen to Green Dreamer via any podcast app and read on for our episode transcript. 

Perdita Finn: Sitting with the wisdoms of darkness, death, and decay

In this episode, geographer, writer, and sound artist AM Kanngieser invites us to reconsider the diverse ways in which we register both sound and silence — pushing back against the idea that listening itself is a virtuous act with universality in experience. Through their own journey as a geographer and sound artist, Kanngieser sheds light on the colonial repercussions of extracting sound, knowledge, and information from landscapes and communities that have historically been taken from without consent.  What are the moral considerations for using recording technologies initially developed for military surveillance? How do we ask for permission to capture sounds—not just from the people of a place but also from the land themselves? And what does it mean to blur the boundaries of our various senses as we become more attuned and responsive to the world?

AM Kanngieser: Enlivening our responsiveness through embodied listening

Why is the North Africa and Middle East region so vital to center in discourses on climate justice? How does the current global energy transition reinforce colonial, extractivist power dynamics? And what is the meaning of “eco-normalization” in the context of the Arab world? Join us in this episode as Algerian researcher and activist Hamza Hamouchene dissects crucial narratives surrounding the notion of “green energy colonialism.” Posing critical questions about the current beneficiaries of renewable energy projects, Hamouchene offers thought-provoking perspectives that empower listeners to unpack the systemic injustices of “green colonialism.” Listen via our website or any podcast app, and find the transcript below.

Hamza Hamouchene: Rising up to true climate justice

Who does “fair trade” as a certification program speaking to conscious consumers really serve? How might it fall short of what it promises—supporting farmers and producers from falling into the deepest pits of poverty while paradoxically also keeping them at a certain level? What does the process of rebuilding power entail for communities who are grappling with local inequalities within a larger global corporate agricultural chain? In this episode, we converse with author and geography Lindsay Naylor as she delves into the daily acts of resistance and agricultural practices by the campesinos/as of Chiapas, Mexico, in their pursuit of dignified livelihoods and self-declared autonomous communities. Drawing from her fieldwork, Naylor explores interaction with fair trade markets and state violence within the context of the radical history of coffee production.

Lindsay Naylor: Who does "fair trade" really serve and benefit?

What does it mean to recognize the limitations of “biodiversity” as a gauge of planetary wellbeing? How do we make sense of the heads of big corporations like Shell being major patrons of the largest conservation organizations? And how might a politics of disability justice shape diverse futures beyond an exclusive framework of Western-Scientific conservation? In this episode, we converse with scholar and anti-oppression activist Audra Mitchell on how intersecting forms of systemic violence work to extract, eliminate, and conceal cultural and ecological plurality—and how the survival, preservation, and organization of oppressed and marginalized communities alone resist such violence. Extended episode: patreon.com/greendreamer

352) Jessica Hernandez: Healing with Indigenous science and holistic thinking

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