Rooting in a Useless Land
Author | : Chelsea Fisher |
Publisher | : Univ of California Press |
Total Pages | : 280 |
Release | : 2023-10-03 |
ISBN-10 | : 9780520395879 |
ISBN-13 | : 0520395875 |
Rating | : 4/5 (875 Downloads) |
Download or read book Rooting in a Useless Land written by Chelsea Fisher and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2023-10-03 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Rooting in a Useless Land, Chelsea Fisher examines the deep histories of environmental-justice conflicts in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. She draws on her innovative archaeological research in Yaxunah, an Indigenous Maya farming community dealing with land dispossession, but with a surprising twist: Yaxunah happens to be entangled with prestigious sustainable-development projects initiated by some of the most famous chefs in the world. Fisher contends that these sustainable-development initiatives inadvertently bolster the useless-land narrative—a colonial belief that Maya forests are empty wastelands—which has been driving Indigenous land dispossession and environmental injustice for centuries. Rooting in a Useless Land explores how archaeology, practiced within communities, can restore history and strengthen relationships built on contested ground.