let's have a catch-all thread about settler colonialism

prompted by this very powerful essay by hazel v. carby

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v44/n10/hazel-v.-carby/we-must-burn-them

but we already have a California politics thread

haha

lol

is this where i admit to having complicated feelings about the new trend of doing "land acknowledgements"?

ohhh yahh.. that is addressed in the essay i linked!

"The criticism that might be made of statements like this, which have become common in parts of the academy, including my own university, is that they are rarely written in collaboration with the elders of Indigenous communities, and rarely make reference to the continued existence of these communities; instead, they relegate indigeneity to an eternal past while avoiding the pressing issue of Indigenous sovereignty in the present. They obscure, rather than promote, attempts to expand our intellectual, cultural and geographical horizons, and to challenge our allegiances to home, department, academic discipline and nation."

one of the things i love about the piece is it's not afraid to take the academy to task and makes a good case for the academy doing more work overall for the "other side". refreshing to read from someone in academia & takes a lot of courage! not to make the thread about that piece but it is really awesome. the final extended section going into the genocide in connecticut is just wow.

'land acknowledgements' may be slightly better than complete ignorance, but they fall so far short of describing the reality of past genocide and present day racism that they constitute more of a performative self-congratulation than a healing gesture.

one of my issues with land acknowledgements is that the focus seems to be "if you are committed to social justice, you will do them, because other groups in other places that are committed to social justice do them." whereas different regions and places have different histories. Going back to California politics, there wasn't just one "original sin" committed against the Indigenous people, and their descendants aren't still in power / in place. In many parts of the state, land has been contested and subsequent oppressed groups had to fight for the right to own, to occupy land and buildings. In other parts of North America, where this land acknowledgement practice originated, it is much simpler. ... plus, it kinda occludes the fact that many of us don't "own" the land we occupy to begin with. Like, I'm a tenant on a month to month lease, and I live in a multi-story building ... there are multiple ways in which the "land I'm on" doesn't belong to me.

... also, technically, I think "the land I'm on" was actually under water during the pre-colonial era? It seems weasel-y to say that I have an "out" in that regard ... but it does go back to the a-historicity of the whole thing.

yeah i mean.. our system of property ownership is a whole other part of colonialism run amok. it's a bit perverted when your institution is a huge engine for extracting capital from property in the first place. but i think the point that it doesn't engage with inequality in the present is the real kicker. history can so easily be used to justify the present, even when it's like "the thing that happened was bad." liberals are really good at it.

they constitute more of a performative self-congratulation

That's what a lot of academia is though. I mean you have to find ways to work these sorts of ideas into everyday life. People are actively trying to ignore this kind of contextualization so it's a never-ending battle to keep it centered if you are really concerned about it. It is more visible in academia specifically because in that space there is a lack of the corporate disincentives that make it untenable in an office or football stadium, etc. And probably a university should be a sandbox to try and figure out ways to make these kinds of contextualizations persistent.

it just reminds me of the one time I had thanksgiving dinner w/my ex-'s Mormon family, and we had to go around the table and say what we are grateful to god for.

... going back to the topic of settler colonialism in general

haha totally

what did you say?

i was thankful for pie.

i was very sincerely thankful / grateful for pie ... the rest of the food was quite bland and disappointing, but the pie was good.

nice answer

Pie-ous