Episode #9: Choosing the Journey of Decolonization

Today's topic is an important one and may bring up feelings of discomfort, but I'm asking you to trust me. We're going to dig into what decolonization is and how you can examine your own part in the story of colonization, the part your ancestors may have played in colonization, and how to move forward to make things right today.

"You can't fully be decolonized, but you can have decolonization practices in place."

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You’ve probably heard someone say this: “Yes, obviously colonialism and slavery were bad, but also think about the good things Europeans brought with them as well.” A lot of people like to talk about what Europeans built. This happens wherever there was (or is) colonialism [the system of permanently invading countries for wealth, resources, and land]. . So people talk about what colonists BUILT: roads, trains, railroads, telephone wiring, canals, ports, plumbing, agriculture systems, libraries, housing, government buildings, and so on.....but most importantly, this is supposed to be a “blessing” from the former-colonists. There’s only one problem: European colonists built this infrastructure almost exclusively for themselves. No one else. . During the 1960’s, Britain and France withdrew from almost all of their colonial possessions, but for almost a century, they had purposefully not allowed any real economic development. African colonies were for extracting resources like gold, coal, rubber, oil, and diamonds. Europeans needed their colonies to be less developed. . These resources went straight to Europe, on trains that cut right through villages without stopping. These train tracks weren’t designed to help the Indigenous grow as a nation—it had been designed to connect a colony’s mines to its sea ports on the coast (with boats that went straight back to Europe). . The same thing went for phone lines: it was easier to call from Africa to Europe than it was to call from one African capital to another! When Independence came, a crisis unfolded as people realized that Europeans had hardly built anything at all...because everything built for colonialism was really just that: built for colonialism.

A post shared by Uncolonial History (@uncolonial_history) on Jul 23, 2018 at 5:35pm PDT

I would love to hear from you!

What's one thing you will do next on your journey of decolonization?

Credit for the phrase "be a good ancestor" goes to Arianna of Quw'utsun' Made

4 Comments

Lana Dominguez on October 22, 2018 at 12:02 pm

Becca,
I loved this episode (and all your others, of course), but this one was profound to me in many ways. I, too, have ancestors that were colonizers and were colonized. Because I identify as a mixed-person with different racial/ethnic backgrounds, it is easier for me to see how oppression has shaped my life (because I still endure discrimination and microaggressions) than it is for the very real privilege that has also shaped my life. I haven’t yet done much genealogy research on my European ancestors and part of it is because it never interested me much (akin to whiteness not having culture) and also fear at what I may find. In another episode, you discussed the privilege of ancestry research and I find it interesting how that intersects here for me too. I haven’t been able to find anything farther back than great-grandparents on my Mexican side, but the entire other side of that family is mapped back alllllll the way back to Scotland (we even have our own tartan pattern). I also love how you encourage us to find spiritual practices that come from our own ancestry (again, privilege here intersects – I struggle finding Mexican spirituality that’s pre-colonization, but that’s not an excuse to mix and match OTHERS spiritual practices I have no right to). It’s fascinating, gut-wrenching, and more. You’ve given me the courage I need to begin the ancestry research on BOTH sides of my family regardless of what I think I may find. I hope to pilgrimage as you have done one day as well. Thank you for your work. It is so important.
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- Becca Piastrelli on October 23, 2018 at 2:15 pm
  
  Thank you so so much for sharing your experience here, Lana. I really hear you in experiencing two very different ways of being and levels of privilege in this ancestry and decolonization work. The bit about trying to find pre-christian, pre-colonial spiritual practices in what is known as Mexico in modern day is something I’ve learned a bit about in my own research of Dia de Los Muertos. It may be hard, but it’s worth it to keep digging. Thank you for doing your part.
  Reply
  - Lana Dominguez on October 29, 2018 at 11:37 am
    
    Absolutely! I love Dia de Los Muertos and have been incorporating that into my practice! I can’t wait to find out even more. 🙂
    Reply
Sheila on October 27, 2020 at 2:04 pm

Loved Loved Loved this! I learned so much and such deep thought went into it. I thank you.
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