Raíces Verdes

A platform dedicated to validating, archiving and sharing the experiences of Black, Indigenous, People of color in connection to the environment. Raíces Verdes is a storytelling platform for healing our relationship with the earth and with each other. 

Introducing Visual Storytelling

Storytelling has been always been a important part of my identity, and for some time period in my youth, I became very passionate about telling stories through film photography. Later as young adult, I was introduced to documentary work centering Black and Indigenous voices through Comunicación Combativa, an autonomous media cooperative. As part of the growth I envision for Raíces Verdes, I want to expand telling stories of BIPOC and the environment into photo essays and short documentaries. Below are the first two visual storytelling project I have had the please of working on, which you can learn more about by clicking on each image or video. I am excited to embark on this journey and continue amplifying the green roots of  BIPOC – Samara Almonte (host/producer)

Collaborate with Raíces Verdes

Samara Almonte, host and creator of Raíces Verdes has been featured in different publications and media projects, which you can learn more about in the Collaborations page. In addition,  Samara has a list of different community offerings available for different audiences which you can learn more about under the Offerings page. For inquiries please message Raíces Verdes using the contact form on the website, or email raicesverdespodcast@gmail.com 

Featured Shows

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Coast Salish Stories

1 episodes
Elementor #3122
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RiSE: In the Time of Healing

1 episodes
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Black Geographies: Land Relationships Rooted in the Black Identity

3 episodes
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Latest Episodes

Instagram feed @nuestrasraicesverdes

Had the pleasure a few weeks ago to interview folks from @agrowingculture for an editorial piece with @shado.mag which you can read using the link in my bio! The piece is titled “A Culture of Sovereignty: Farmers leading the way” which touches on different aspects of AGC’s work while weaving my own family’s story of being farmers. Please let me know what you think and hoping these topics can be brought be back into future episodes ✨ Artwork by @daizydoodles Picture #2: My father among my grandfather’s sugarcane fields Picture #2: my paternal grandfather - - #farmers #agriculture #environmentaljustice #greenroots #raicesverdes #climatejustice #foodjustice #indigenousknowledge #foodsovereignty #sovereignty
What a beautiful day to be proud of where you are on your reconnecting journey as Indigenous people ✨ 🤎Celebrating today the ways I feel connected to the environment, to my relatives, ancestors and to the weaving of Indigenous futures. I am in deep gratitude with the abundance of relationships I have and thankful for the land and water that embrace me as a lost relative making her way home. May all Indigenous peoples across the world experience the joys of being loved back by their ancestral lands. 🤎✨🌽🌿 Picture #2: maíz/medicine harvested at @longhearingfarm this past weekend Picture #4: Sweat lodge where I attended a temazcal ceremony with @iretapurhepecha Picture #5: my elder, Tia Lupe with my cousin enjoying some changungas from her backyard Picture #6: a throwback from when I was traveling across Oaxaca in 2017 taking courses from @elpinchesimon2018 and Indigenous communities across the region. That summer really set me on my path to reconnecting as a P’urhepecha women Picture #6: my beautiful maternal grandmother Picture #7: my maternal great grandmother Picture #8-9 : P’urhepecha territory
I am so honored to be part of the upcoming “Indigenous Futures in the Era of Climate” taking place on October 11th, also known as #IndigenousPeoplesDay co-hosted by @pinasoulspc @mayanleague @sustainableseattlewa @braidedseeds and @conserve_wa . You can register using the link in bio, and to check-out who else is going to be at the panel click on the original post from @pinasoulspc ✨ - - #RaicesVerdes #GreenRoots #EnvironmentalJustice #IndigenousKnowledge #ClimateJustice
IMPORTANT ‼️: Since the launch of Raíces Verdes in 2019, I (Samara) have been going through a transformative journey on deconstructing the concept of Latinidad. Raíces Verdes is a platform that is critical of Latinidad and invited listeners and contributors to this work to explore the history of the term and build solidarity based on liberation rather than “representation”. Throughout the 3 seasons of Raíces Verdes there have been a variety of guests on the show who have connections to so-called Latin America but don’t necessarily identify as Latinx/Latino/Latina or Hispanic. There are people on this list who identify only and/or as Indigenous, Black, Chicano/a/x and so on. So for this #LatinxHeritageMonth I am not going to talk about representation of Latinidad in the outdoors and sustainability because that doesn’t even make sense. Instead I invite you all to (re)listen to these episodes or engage with the guests work from the perspective of their “green roots”. What is people’s placed-based knowledge shared during the episodes? How are these guests critical of Latinidad? How has the creation of Latinidad contributed to erasing some of these guest’s “green roots” or ancestral connection to the environment? How do we benefit from the White supremacy that created Latinidad? Bottom line is Raíces Verdes is not here to build community on some anti-Black and anti-Indigenous representation politics. Raíces Verdes is about reconnecting in a responsible way to our ancestors and the land to build a future based on Black & Indigenous self-determination. And so that’s that 🤷🏽‍♀️ maybe more to come on this topic this week 🤔🌱
It’s been a minute to get to this point, but I feel my heart mending from this year’s multitude of heartbreaks and I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss this work. I am going to be patient with this relaunch as it might get hard at times because I have more commitments now than I did before. But because this work is part of my gifts and part of the path my ancestors have laid before me I must not lose faith in it’s value and ability to shift alongside me. Hoping to upload a new episode by the middle of October but will start posting some internal updates about the mission and vision of this work sooner. Thank you to those who have been so here since the begging, sending medicine as I grieve and thank you to those who have recently joined this platform. Excited for new beginnings ✨🌱 📍Snohomish territory #raicesverdes #greenroots #diversifyoutdoors #indigenousmedicine #indigenouswomen #podcastofcolor #environmentaljustice #storytelling
New article up on @theoutbound ! This one is in honor of my experiences working and being in relationship with the youth and organizers from @youngwomenempowered @climateactionclub.ohs @capitalclimateclub,and beyond, and most recently (ft in this photo) the youth from @kingcountyparks Youth Conservation Corps summer program ✨ the work I do will always be informed by ancestral knowledge and led by the youth whose future I am impacting. May the land and its spirits continue to protect you and guide you on your journey. You are so loved , smart and powerful 💛 to read click the link on bio #theoutbound #writingresidency #youth #youthclimateaction #youthresistance #environmentaljustice #greenroots
Just wanted to give a little shout out to my bestie, colleague and fellow conspirator in this work ✨ My friend Eliana Bravo from @seedingreciprocity wrote a short article about the importance of Indigenous & Latinx representation in science. I am really proud of her and all the dreams she has for @seedingreciprocity and feel honored to support her in this work. Living in a climate crisis, at times we both can feel like we are not doing enough for our communities and this planet. But I think being unapologetically brown and Indigenous and reclaiming spaces that our ancestors were always meant to be part of is simply enough. So give @seedingreciprocity a follow, order some of Elli’s beadwork to support her work & hit up my girl to speak about her work! 🦬🌱 - - - #environmentalscience #indigenousscience #seedingreciprocity #environmentaljustice #raicesverdes #indigenouswomen #climatejustice
📍Kah’eese - Chinook territory | My second article for @theoutbound is now available on my profile! You can read it using the link in my bio 🌊 For this piece instead of writing a traditional travel blog about camping at Cape Dissapointment, I wrote about the violent history embedded in this state park’s name. If you ever get a chance to visit I highly recommend it. However, we must keep in mind whose land we are recreating on and how can we actively give reparations to those Indigenous communities. Self-determination and #LandBack for Indigenous people must be at the core of environmental stewardship. - - #theoutbound #writingresidency #greenroots #raicesverdes #environmentaljustice #naturewriting #diversifyoutdoors #indigenoushiker #indigenousland #latinxhikers #bipochikers
On August 9th, the world celebrated #InternationalndigenousPeoplesDay but really everyday is #IndigenousPeoplesDay. Which is why a few days later I wanted to share with you all my favorite quote from my first published article with @theoutbound. Identity as a displaced and disconnected Indigenous person is so complex, and writing this article made me reflect on a previous series of Raíces Verdes. "Beyond Chicanismo" is a series that for very self-centered reasons I wanted to create because at that time I was in such a deep turmoil of how to identify and whether or not I wanted to be part of the Chicanx community. Was it a contradiction to identify as a Chicana and work towards a decolonial land stewardship? I would say I explore parts of my answer to this question in my first Outbound piece titled "Finding Our Placed-Based Identities". You can read the piece using the link in my bio, and this is also where you will find the rest of my coming work for the residency. I am fully embracing this transitional time in my life and owning my journey as a reconnecting P'urhepecha women. As always here to know more about your #greenroots or #raicesverdes and how this work has help you reconnect. _ _ _ #Indigenouswomen #chicanismo #wocwriters #diversifyoutdoors #environmentaljustice #storytelling #writingresidency #landback
As I mentioned yesterday I am going through a transitional time and one of the ways I am hoping to document this time in my life is through writing. I am excited to announce that I am one of 3 @theoutbound Writing Resident for Underrepresented Storytellers 🌲From Outbound: “[The Residency] is an initiative we put into action in 2020 to foster representation and support past-due conversations throughout the outdoor industry. We're prioritizing featuring the work of our industry's underrepresented communities because we need to do a better job of elevating and amplifying their voices”. You can read my first article using the link in bio and make sure to read the amazing work of the other 2 residents @roving_ranger and @angels_excursions 🌲I am honored to share this time together and to connect through our writing. What kind of topics would you all be interested in reading about? 📸: @alejandrotakesphotoss Huanengo: @uanhasi #uanhasï #tejiendocultura - #diversifyoutdoors #naturewriting #outbound #wocwriters #raicesverdes #greenroots
I have been meaning to post this for some time now but as I will explain, life has just not allowed it. I have been thinking so much about where Raíces Verdes is moving towards and honestly it’s been so difficult for multiple reasons. All the plans I had at the begging of the year went out the door with the passing of my father. Then I transitioned into a new full-time job (I was only PT before) and that has completely altered my schedule which I am still working on balancing and adjusting. And to add to my wave of transitions, I moved during the month of July, lol so it’s been a lot. I know I don’t need to justify my absence and self-care,so that is not what that is. But for those who care even just a little about this platform, work and myself I just wanted to give an update (specially if you don’t follow my personal account). There are some new projects and ideas currently in the works for this platform but in a direction where maybe I am not the main director of the work. I am really just flowing with these transitions and making space for myself as much as I can. I also remind myself that this work in particular should not be stressful. It should be out of love, for community and to move in a just way. so until I know how I can move in the direction I want , i am simply floating 🌊 P.S - you can always support this work by simply sharing the podcast or platform and tagging the account in other relevant social media posts. I appreciate that I have not been forgotten 💛 📍Stillaguamish & Snohomish territory #raicesverdes #greenroots
In 2019 on June 3rd I decided to announce to the world my little project called “Raíces Verdes” or Green Roots. At that time I just thought it would be fun to podcast, I always wanted to be on a radio show and thought this could be a indie version of that dream. Two years later and this platform has truly transformed my life. I have met so many amazing people through this platform, connected with different communities, have had the opportunity to speak to many audiences, but most importantly find my power as a storyteller. And that wouldn’t be possibly without the support of my community and the trust of my guests who have shared amazing knowledge and stories with me throughout the two years. I am still processing a lot of personal things relating to the recent events in my life, so I am not quite ready to jump fully back into Season 3. However I hope to post more updates this week and if you are new to this space, I want to share some highlights with you from the past two years. From a podcast to an environmental justice storytelling platform. A new chapter in this work and my life is coming, and we are here with open arms embracing whatever the Universe and ancestors have in store for me 🌿 - - #raicesverdes #greenroots #storytelling #environmentaljustice #podsincolor #diversifyoutdoors #melaninbasecamp #indigenousstories #bipocoutdoors #sustainability #climatejustice

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Raíces Verdes is a platform dedicated to validating, archiving and sharing the experiences of Black, Indigenous, People of color in connection to the environment