Artisans for Conservation: Creating Community Grants to Fund Black & Indigenous Leaders in the Environmental Movement
By Jessica Hernandez
Throughout my graduate and professional career in the environmental sciences, there is an urgent problem I consistently come across — the lack of funding for communities of color, especially Black and Indigenous peoples doing environmental sustainability or conservation work.
Black and Indigenous communities are on the frontlines of the environmental movement — especially since for many of us it is a means of survival and not just the latest fad on Twitter or something edgy to post on Instagram.
Environmental racism, degradation, and climate change impacts our communities the most as we heavily rely on natural resources or live in the most polluted cities. To address the lack of support among our environmental change makers and leaders, I created Piña Soul, SPC with the support of our board of directors. Piña Soul’s social purpose business model was created from my own personal side hustle I had as an Indigenous artisan. I started selling my embroidered purses and beaded earrings on Twitter and the money I’ve made from these sales are funding my environmental and community work throughout graduate school.
Creative Solutions for Overcoming Obstacles
Most grants have constraints when it comes to using funds to provide honorariums, purchase meals, and other essentials that are necessary for community-based work.
Selling artesanias helped me address these financial obstacles to launch my dissertation work at Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center — located at Discovery Park in Seattle, Washington. My dissertation aims to bring attention to climate and food justice as a means of environmental justice in urban settings-focusing on land restoration and the cultural, spiritual, and social significance of land to Indigenous peoples. We have explored and examined the urban Native diaspora of Seattle and find ways in which Indigenous knowledge systems and contemporary diets have adapted to their new urban setting. Through the analysis of Indigenous knowledge systems and contemporary diets, we have linked environmental, climate, and food justice through an Indigenous and decolonial lens. We have also found new kinships of urban Natives to the land and water they have strengthened through their interactions with urban natural green spaces that are available in the city.
Because I have been gifted with economic independence as an artisan, I wanted to amplify this model to provide grants to other people who are doing grassroots work to improve their community’s environment or address conservation inequalities present in their communities. This is why Piña Soul was born.
Funding the Work of Eco-Warriors
Piña Soul, SPC. promotes and supports environmental sustainability and conservation among Black and Indigenous communities through the sale of our artesanias and consultation services. We aim to provide resources and consultation services to non-profit, government, and strategic community partners to address environmental sustainability and conservation. Our vision is to create a decolonial platform and space that uplifts Black and Indigenous voices in the environmental discourse and movement through culture, crafts, conservation, and consultation. Twenty percent of all proceeds fund our Eco-Warrior Community Grants which are designed to support grassroots environmental and conservation movements/initiatives or projects led by Black and Indigenous communities. Grantees also receive mentorship to help them maximize their community impact and continue their legacy as Eco-Warriors.
Supported by Leaders of Color
Our current board members are leaders in their communities. Their work advocates for the inclusion and visibility of communities of color in our current environmental discourse. Our board is responsible for ensuring we have an equitable and fair decision process when selecting our grantees for our community grants. They are volunteering their time to ensure we stay true to Piña Soul’s mission and vision as a social-purpose corporation. We have scientists, professors, and community leaders who want to also want to be part of something good to support our communities. Some of our board members are also proud SACNAS members!
Endangered Artisans
Our artisans are Indigenous peoples from what are considered “undeveloped” regions — pueblos. Many of the artisans are relatives, community members, and folks who I have had the honor to work with on environmental projects throughout the years. We are hoping to start developing (in the future) digital stories to bring light and advocacy to what they were doing in their communities. However, it is a fine line we to address, as most of them prefer to be anonymous due to the persecution Indigenous peoples continue to face in Latin America and across the world. It is no surprise that Latin America is the region where the most Indigenous leaders are murdered if they partake in advocacy. 16 Indigenous leaders were murdered in Guatemala and 14 in Mexico this past year (2018). Working with artisans who live in constant persecution makes us more knowledgeable of the privileges we possess for living in the United States. This is not to say that Indigenous leaders do not face persecution in the U.S., but Indigenous leaders are targets of assassinations in Latin America.
Art, Prayers, Vision
“I am an Indigenous womxn,
A conservationist, An artisan,
I advocate for the protection of our oceans,
Our animals, Our plants,
Our living and non-living relatives
I embroider my family’s legacies,
I bead my prayers to Mother Earth
I am Jessica Hernandez
And I am Piña Soul,
Artisans for Conservation.”
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Code Expires: January 4, 2020.
About the Author
Jessica Hernandez is an Indigenous scientist, artisan, and conservationist. She is currently completing her final year of her doctoral degree at the University of Washington, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences. Her dissertation project is helping restore Seattle’s Indigenous landscape through the integration of community-based solutions and participation.
