This article is part of our occasional series The Climate Questionnaire, where we talk with authors, writers, filmmakers, podcasters, and other content creators about their work illustrating the human impacts of air pollution and global warming.
There are many people seeking solutions to the climate crisis. Dr. Jessica Hernandez argues that Indigenous science is the way forward. In her second and latest book, Growing Papaya Trees: Nurturing Indigenous Roots During Climate Displacement, she explores her contention, honing in on how colonialism causes displacement and how Indigenous knowledge can both foster resilience and be a way for displaced communities to heal.
Dr. Hernandez is an Indigenous environmental scientist and the founder of the organization Earth Daughters, which supports and uplifts transnational Indigenous women and youth as climate justice leaders. Earth Daughters specifically focuses on community‑led initiatives, so that solutions come directly from the people most connected to their lands, cultures, and ecosystems.
We spoke with Dr. Hernandez about her new book, and about Earth Daughters’ mission to elevate Indigenous science and traditional ecological knowledge, which she deems as essential to building the sustainable and culturally grounded climate solutions needed right now. She calls her approach critical because, “Western frameworks alone have not addressed the root causes of climate change, while Indigenous knowledge offers place-based, relational solutions that sustain ecosystems and communities.”
Tell us about your work, and how it’s redefining environmental and climate solutions?
My work redefines environmental and climate solutions by shifting power back to Indigenous communities and centering Indigenous science as the foundation, not the addition. Through Earth Daughters, I build programs where Indigenous women, youth, and knowledge keepers lead the work, from restoring food systems like kalo [the Hawaiian word for taro] cultivation to guiding land stewardship practices rooted in reciprocity. Instead of focusing only on technical climate fixes, my work prioritizes rebuilding relationships between people, land, and culture. This means solutions are not only about sustainability, but about restoring identity, governance, and community well-being. In practice, I am creating spaces where Indigenous knowledge directly shapes how climate solutions are designed and implemented, making them more holistic, grounded, and effective.
How do you bridge or blend traditional ecological knowledge with Western science?
As an Indigenous scientist, I bridge traditional ecological knowledge and Western science by grounding my work in Indigenous frameworks while strategically engaging Western systems when needed. Indigenous knowledge is already a science rooted in observation, relationality, and long-term environmental stewardship. In my work, I do not treat it as separate or secondary. Instead, I bring Indigenous science into academic, policy, and institutional spaces to challenge dominant assumptions and expand how knowledge is valued. For example, through land-based programming, food systems restoration, and research, I integrate ecological practices that come from Indigenous teachings while also translating that work into language that institutions can recognize. My books Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science and Growing Papaya Trees help me bring this into mainstream environmentalism.
You’re essentially connecting environmental health with human well-being—how?
Through my leadership with Earth Daughters, I approach environmental health and human well-being as inseparable. When land is harmed, Indigenous communities, especially women and youth, experience that impact directly through food insecurity, displacement, and loss of cultural connection. My work addresses this by restoring access to land-based learning, traditional food systems, and Indigenous knowledge. By supporting kalo [taro] cultivation, community gatherings, and cultural education, I create spaces where people can reconnect with land while also strengthening mental, cultural, and physical well-being. I also remove participation barriers through stipends, meals, and transportation, ensuring that those most impacted by inequities can fully engage. This work is about healing both ecosystems and communities together, recognizing that one cannot exist without the other.
There is so much work to do on the climate crisis today. What shifts do you see as urgently needed, and what role can Indigenous leadership play?
The most urgent shift needed is a redistribution of power, decision-making, and resources to Indigenous communities, especially Indigenous women who have long been excluded from environmental leadership spaces. Institutions and policymakers need to move away from extractive and top-down approaches and instead trust and invest in community-led solutions. In my work, I am already demonstrating what this shift looks like by centering Indigenous governance, compensating knowledge keepers, and creating leadership pathways for youth.
Indigenous leadership is critical because it brings forward systems of knowledge grounded in responsibility, care, and long-term thinking. My work shows that when Indigenous women lead, climate solutions become more holistic, relational, and sustainable. The future of environmental work depends on not only including Indigenous voices but recognizing Indigenous leadership as essential to shaping effective and just solutions.
Tell Congress: Support Families Displaced by Climate Disaster