Settler Colonialism

by Jessa Hill

Colonization has created structures and thought processes that continue to guide our world today. These colonial ways of life have proven to be unsustainable for the human population and continue to severely affect Native communities in North America. In order to erect coloniality from our world today, or to decolonize, we must understand the structures and thought processes of colonialism in order to prevent its repetition and center Indigenous knowledge and ways of being.

The initial reasoning behind the settler colonial project in North America was the idea that European settlers had a right to claim the land as their own since it was not previously cultivated in the European sense. Since Native peoples engaged in nomadic and seasonal forms of agricultural land cultivation, they were viewed as inherently inferior because they did not mirror European land use practices and ideas of property (Bhandar 37). Situating Native peoples in this light, along with the general demonization of Indigenous peoples, led to the colonial desire to criminalize and expel those who are not settled on their land and do not practice marketed cultivation; civilization, for colonizers, was only reserved for those who participated in commercial cultivation and trade (Bhandar 46). Therefore, the self-proclaimed legitimacy and continuation of settler colonial states are heavily guided by capitalism. Capitalism inherently serves settlement (Veracini 61) as colonial sovereignty operates through corporate governance (Veracini 59). The control of markets and the economy is thus an essential piece to the settler colonial project, but this control is not only limited to the economy. Settler colonial sovereignty also depends on the settlers ability to control Indigenous populations (Veracini 63). This occurs through the selectively deciding who has the “right to reside within the bounds of a settler polity” (Veracini 67). Maile Arvin also articulates this control as the “logic of possession of whiteness” where both lands and Indigenous bodies are seen as open to possession by white European settlers (Sailiata 302). Settler enactments of control can be seen in actions like forced removals, the implementation of Indian identification cards, reservations, and genocidal militaristic expeditions like the Sullivan Expedition.

Control, capitalism, and land use practices are only a few characteristics of settler colonialism that have allowed for settler colonies to endow themselves with a self-proclaimed sovereignty that resulted in the formation of current settler colonial states like the United States and Canada. And unfortunately, these mindsets no longer solely belong to settler colonial states as Native communities and governments have either unintentionally or been coerced to adopt these same thought processes and structures. This happens through a settler encouragement, or by force through structures like Indian Boarding Schools, of the internalization of white social norms, so much so that Native communities can identify with “white liberty and white justice” (Teves 272). This is especially so when we consider the undertones of some claims for land repatriation. When Native Nations articulate land claims in terms of land ownership, they are reinforcing the colonial framework that land is a commodity that can be owned rather than land being a relative that requires care (Teves 67). Also, situating land repatriation as a cultural right and transforming Indigenous knowledge into legal forms upholds the legitimacy of settler colonial sovereignty, law, and control (Sailiata 305).

Understanding the foundational elements of settler colonialism and how they have influenced Indigenous rights arguments today is extremely important to decolonial efforts. This is because, by understanding settler colonial theory, we can ensure that we do not perpetuate or further legitimize settler colonial structures in decolonial efforts. Decolonization has several aims. First and foremost, it is about the return of Indigenous lands to Indigenous peoples (Aikau 61), but it is important to remember the problematic nature of this statement as discussed earlier. Therefore, true decolonization requires an “intelligent, calculated, and active resistance to the forces of colonialism that perpetuate the subjugation and/or exploitation of your minds, bodies, and lands, and it is engaged for the ultimate purpose of overturning the colonial structure and realizing Indigenous liberation” (Teves 280). And this absolutely requires the eradication of the global system of capitalism and national sovereignty, both of which legitimize settler colonial regimes (Sharma 54).

An important step in decolonization is by realizing that achieving federal recognition or nationhood will not liberate Native peoples as this will only reinforce the “legitimacy” of settler colonial states and structures. The challenges that Indigenous communities face require spiritual and sustainable changes, rather than political or economic solutions that the establishment of nationhood would offer (Corntassel 92). Acquiring sovereignty from settler colonial control can also lead to subsequent involvement in the global capitalist market (Sharma 39) and thus the exploitation, oppression, and control of marginalized peoples (Sharma 53), all of which reinforce the structures of settler colonialism. So, instead of focusing on obtaining nationhood status from colonial institutions, Indigenous communities should center their sovereignty action around the protection of Indigenous bodies (Sharma 20) and their relationships to their homelands (Corntassel 92).

Along with devaluing state recognition so as to not perpetuate and legitimize colonial structures of capitalism and control, decolonization requires a shift in epistemologies. It is essential to acknowledge that decolonization truly means that there needs to be a complete “change in the order of the world” (Tuck 31). This can be done by shifting thought processes from Western/colonial theory to Indigenous knowledge ways in order to allow for true Indigenous liberation (Teves 311). When this shift occurs in sovereignty or land reclamation efforts, Native peoples are able to pursue their self-recognition through tribal knowledge that does not adhere to or uphold the structures of recognition enforced by settler colonial states in North America (Teves 272). A shift in epistemology will result in a total restructuring of how the world works and will center Indigenous voices and knowledge, rather than the academy which is inherently colonial, when creating and implementing decolonial structures.

But what happens after the shift is implemented and we delink from coloniality? What will decolonization actually look like? It is extremely important to consider the “afterlife of analysis” (Aikau 60) and how traditional Indigenous thought processes and ways of life can inform this. Rather than thinking of decolonization as a reversal, it should be considered a “forward-thinking project” (Teves 281). One aspect of thinking about a decolonial future is how we will care for our communities, both human and nonhuman. This can be done through restoring Indigenous presence to respective homelands, revitalizing traditional land-based practices, reinstalling a focus on traditional diets, strengthening connections between Elders and youth to transmit culture and spiritual teachings, encouraging familial activities and connections, reviving and/or strengthening Indigenous cultural/social institutions/governments, and centering sustainable land-based economies (Corntassel 97). When thinking about the physicality of decolonization, it is essential that existing buildings are not used for the same purposes they were used for under colonial regimes so as to not reproduce the colonial ideologies that come with those structures (Aikau 61). Instead, buildings like courthouses and banks can and should be repurposed for other means like community gatherings, community support systems, cultural institutions, and education centers.

In order to truly decolonize, we must understand the foundations of settler colonialism so as to not reproduce it which will lead to true Indigenous liberation. And although this information is coming from the academy, which is a colonial institution, it can be used to help the liberation of Indigenous communities. But it is not the only piece of the puzzle. True decolonization requires the global centering of Indigenous epistemologies and the implementation of Indigenous systems of community care in order to erect the exploitative and violent nature of settler colonialism.

Bibliography

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Corntassel, Jeff. “Re-envisioning resurgence: Indigenous pathways to decolonization and sustainable self-determination.” Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education, & Society, vol. 1, no. 1, 2012, pp. 86–101.

Sailiata, Kristina. “Decolonization.” Native Studies Keywords, The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 2015, pp. 301–308.

Sharma, Nandita. “Postcolonial Sovereignty.” Native Studies Keywords, The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 2015, pp. 35–57.

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Teves, Stephanie N., Andrea Smith, and Michelle H. Raheja. “Land.” Native Studies Keywords, The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 2015, pp. 59–70.

Tuck, Eve, and K. Wayne Yang. “Decolonization Is Not a Metaphor.” Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education, & Society, vol. 1, no. 1, 2012, pp. 1–40.

Veracini, Lorenzo. Settler Colonialism: A Theoretical Overview. Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.