Black & Indigenous Environmentalist Nonfiction
By Suzy González
April 24th, 2023
As we continue our series on the climate and its impacts on our communities, we want to uplift Black and Indigenous authors doing the work!
These books share knowledge about lessons from nature, the effects of climate change on the earth’s inhabitants, and what we can do to reconnect and align our actions with our beliefs.
The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet
Leah Thomas
Linking environmentalism with racism and privilege, Thomas promotes the uplifting of BIPOC voices who are unfairly impacted by environmental injustices.
Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science
Jessica Hernandez, Phd
A Maya Ch’orti’ and Zapotec environmental scientist’s perspective on ancestral knowledge systems that heal and generate rather than displace and destroy.
Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals
Alexis Pauline Gumbs
A poetic dive into Black feminism and marine liberation, Gumbs shares lessons about these non-human animals through the lens of social justice.
Pollution is Colonialism
Max Liboiron
With a focus on plastic pollution, Liboiron draws from Métis scientific practices and ethics to illustrate how pollution is a violent colonial act.
Lessons from Plants
Beronda L. Montgomery
A study of how the plant world adapts, responds, transforms, and survives, and how we may consider botanical lessons to improve upon human society.
The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save Our Earth
The Red Nation
A call for action beyond what the US colonial state can offer, The Red Nation coalition affirms the need for new frameworks in order for our planet’s inhabitants to live safe and dignified lives.
Consumed: The Need for Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change, and Consumerism
Aja Barber
With a critique of fast fashion and how it relates to colonial structures, Barber informs readers of how they can be the solution rather than the problem.
As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock
Dina Gilio-Whitaker
Through the lens of Indigenized environmental justice, Gilio-Whitaker covers histories of struggle and resistance as it relates to environmental justice activism and policy.
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Kimmerer celebrates the plants and animals of the earth and the lessons they have to teach us about our reciprocal relationship with the natural world.