One thing I've noticed is that most of the discussion about colonialism in this country focuses on White land theft, and not much on the institution of slavery, despite the significant contribution of enslaved labor to the economic wealth of the country then and now, to generational wealth. The current prison-industrial complex (PIC) continues this by profiting from prison labor. The reason for this focus is that the initial and primary colonialism White Europeans brought to this land was settler colonialism.
Category: Decolonial Journey
Decolonial Journey 13 – Abolition
Abolitionists argue the carceral state is not broken but is working as designed to maintain racial capitalism. This makes it unreformable.
Decolonial Journey 12 – Rejection of electoral politics
Voting, regardless of the candidate, grants legitimacy to a political system that is fundamentally intertwined with capitalism and white supremacy. Refusing to vote is thus seen not as a failure of civic duty but as a conscious refusal to grant moral or political legitimacy to an inherently unjust system.
Decolonial Journey 11 – Two Epistles
Religious ideology was used to justify colonial conquest, which then opened the door for capitalist exploitation. This insight made me realize that resistance, too, must be interconnected, challenging Christian colonial capitalist violence together as a unified system.
Decolonial Journey 10 – Colonial violence comes home
The more research I do, the more I analyze Christian colonial capitalist violence, the clearer it becomes that these concepts, which continue their historic assault against Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, are driving the collapse of mainstream, White society today. Not only in this country, but globally.
Decolonial Journey 9 – Indian boarding schools
The concept of "Christian Colonial Capitalist violence" describes an interlocking system where religious ideology, the political project of colonialism, and the economic imperatives of capitalism work in concert to dispossess and harm Indigenous peoples
Decolonial Journey 8 – Sacred journey
One of the most significant experiences I've had related to decolonization was participating in the First Nation-Farmer Climate Unity March. At the beginning of the March, one of the Native people called this a sacred journey. The March began in Des Moines, Iowa, and continued 94 miles to Fort Dodge, along the path of the Dakota Access Pipeline in September, 2018.
Decolonial Journey 7 – Nahko
Nahko’s performance was powerful and moving, with an emphasis on solidarity and spiritual resistance. He communicated a resounding message of unity and nonviolent direct action, connecting music to the larger aims of the water protector activism at Standing Rock
Decolonial Journey 6 – US Bank protest
Opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline (#NoDAPL) became a focus of Sikowis' and my work for the next several years. This led to my introduction to Ed Fallon of Bold Iowa. Activists in the Midwest viewed the crowds who would be attending the Super Bowl that was held in Minneapolis on February 4, 2018, as an opportunity to bring awareness to the issues of the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR).
Decolonial Journey 5 – Two fronts of resistance
The 2016 movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), known as #NoDAPL, was a historic stand for Indigenous sovereignty, treaty rights, and the sacredness of water. The pipeline, a prophesied "Black Snake," was slated to cut across 346 miles of the state, yet the Indigenous voice was initially absent.