Jessica Hernandez

environmental discourse has failed and continues to fail in uplifting and centering Indigenous peoples’ voices, perspectives, and lived experiences. Ultimately, this creates further marginalization against Indigenous peoples as our voices, perspectives, and lived experiences are crucial and necessary to incorporate. Without them, we are continuing to separate humans from nature, and this is why our environments are at the current state they are today. It is important to note that Indigenous peoples have been the stewards and caretakers of our environments since time immemorial. Yet we are often left out from the environmental discourse and any decision-making pertaining to our environment.

environmental discourse has failed and continues to fail in uplifting and centering Indigenous peoples’ voices, perspectives, and lived experiences. Ultimately, this creates further marginalization against Indigenous peoples as our voices, perspectives, and lived experiences are crucial and necessary to incorporate. Without them, we are continuing to separate humans from nature, and this is why our environments are at the current state they are today. It is important to note that Indigenous peoples have been the stewards and caretakers of our environments since time immemorial. Yet we are often left out from the environmental discourse and any decision-making pertaining to our environment.

environmental discourse has failed and continues to fail in uplifting and centering Indigenous peoples’ voices, perspectives, and lived experiences. Ultimately, this creates further marginalization against Indigenous peoples as our voices, perspectives, and lived experiences are crucial and necessary to incorporate. Without them, we are continuing to separate humans from nature, and this is why our environments are at the current state they are today. It is important to note that Indigenous peoples have been the stewards and caretakers of our environments since time immemorial. Yet we are often left out from the environmental discourse and any decision-making pertaining to our environment.

my father always told me that our animal and plant relatives are also watching over us. He always told me that as long as we protect nature, nature will protect us.

why do you think you survived?

I will say that I survived because nature served as a protective shield for me. It took care of me when no one would.

I strongly believe that it was this banana tree that saved my life. It is ironic because banana trees are not
native to El Salvador. They were introduced by large agricultural companies to our lands to create plantations. However, there were banana trees around our entire country. This banana tree not only saved my life, its relatives also provided us with food. They all nourished us as well.

I strongly believe that it was this banana tree that saved my life. It is ironic because banana trees are not
native to El Salvador. They were introduced by large agricultural companies to our lands to create plantations. However, there were banana trees around our entire country. This banana tree not only saved my life, its relatives also provided us with food. They all nourished us as well.

I strongly believe that it was this banana tree that saved my life. It is ironic because banana trees are not
native to El Salvador. They were introduced by large agricultural companies to our lands to create plantations. However, there were banana trees around our entire country. This banana tree not only saved my life, its relatives also provided us with food. They all nourished us as well.

My father not only used nature (banana trees) as his shield to protect him from war, he used it as his food source during this time period.

While they were used as tools of colonization, given that banana plantations
provided commonwealth to colonizers’ descendants,10 they ended up being a food source for many guerilla resistance groups against the military dictatorship that was doing everything in its power to maintain these colonial structures