Finding Roots Amongst Diaspora

This episode features Francis Mendoza. Francis goes by he/they/sila pronouns and lives on the ancestral, unceded and contemporary land of the Chocheño people in present-day Oakland, California. They are the Manager of Community Development for the Children & Nature Network and Director of the JEDAI section of the National Association for Interpretation (JEDAI means justice, equity, diversity, accessibility and inclusion). Francis is a first-generation Filipinx immigrant who identifies as a male-presenting, gender non-binary Asian-American Pacific Islander. I have been following Francis on social media for a while now, so I am glad we finally had the opportunity to collaborate on an episode together. This conversation was the perfect balance of real shit being discussed and also making space for laughter and chisme :) I always enjoy connecting with Filipinx folks, because our stories of diaspora (me being from "Latin America" diaspora) are so similar and we have also have so much to teach each other. Francis shares insights from their work as a naturalist, former park ranger, and thoughts on Indigeneity and how someone living in diaspora can be in good relationship with the land we occupy that is not our ancestral territories. To engage with some of Francis's work check out: https://linktr.ee/akialoa, and follow him @roving_ranger on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/roving_ranger/ Links and resources mentioned during the episode: https://gyfoundation.org/The-Bridge-Project https://sogoreate-landtrust.org/shuumi-land-tax/ https://www.childrenandnature.org/ Raices Verdes Episode: https://nuestrasraicesverdes.com/podcast/abolition-the-outdoors/ https://www.instagram.com/outdoorsforall_oldfort/ https://www.parks.ca.gov/NewsRelease/1040