Conceptualising healing in human-environment entanglements

Abstract

This special collection advances “healing” as an analytical lens for examining (non)human–environment relations amid planetary crisis in the Americas. By shifting attention from damage to the practices that seek to heal disrupted relations, it argues that centring Indigenous and local perspectives can generate innovative responses to environmental challenges and broader social transformation. Drawing on de-colonial and feminist approaches, the collection conceptualises healing through three intersecting dimensions: a) its transformative potential; b) its emergent, non-linear temporalities; c) its material dimensions, including the diverse forms of knowledge it activates. Further, we also discuss the challenges of using and translating notions of “healing” across cosmologies and different socio-political contexts. We therefore understand healing not as a static framework or a solution but rather acknowledge its inherent incompleteness and view it as a continuously evolving process.