settler colonial studies blog

The theology of settlers: Liran Shia Gordon, David Ohana, ‘Restorative Utopias: The Settlers and the Bible’, Modern Theology, 2019

07Aug19

Abstract: The attitude to the Bible is a seismograph for scrutinizing the attitude of Zionism, in general, and that of the settlers, in particular, to their ideological and political worldview. To where in the Bible are the settlers returning? To the Land of Canaan, to the land of the Patriarchs, or perhaps to the Kingdom of David? And what is the meaning of this return? It is not only the land that is basic to this question, but the relationship of the Land of Israel to the people of Israel. In this article, we will mainly address the radical theological facets of the settler movement, not the proponents of Greater Israel. Our article will focus on the replication of settler theology from the first stage of Gush Emunim (The Bloc of the Faithful) and the act of settlement, which in the opinion of the settlers is in accord with the continuation and completion of the Zionist project, to a more metaphysical phase, in which the centrality of the act of settlement gives way to Hassidic or kabbalistic thinking. The models which we present make possible a fresh look at the utopian thinking and radical theology that are nourished by the settler movement and reflect a new, non‐homogeneous stage.

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The rise of the ‘Indigenous Relations Specialists: Tiffany M. Campbell, “The ties that bind”: Indigenous Relations Specialists and the Temporal Politics of Reconciliation, MA dissertation, University of Alberta, 2019

07Aug19

Abstract: Following the call, made by Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015), for government to fully adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the framework for reconciliation, those invested in Alberta’s consultation with Indigenous peoples have wondered what this would mean for the future relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. This thesis draws on critical theory scholarship to investigate how the politics of reconciliation are entangled with the liberal politics of recognition and settler colonialism in Canada. I employ techniques of discourse analysis in order to consider a set of interviews conducted with ‘Indigenous Relations Specialists’—a group of Government of Alberta colleagues working in the province’s offices for Aboriginal Consultation on land and natural resource management—to develop a better understanding of reconciliation as an emerging area of both national memory and local practice. In an effort to mediate the relationship between larger structures and systems with real instances of social interaction, I implement a ‘communities of practice’ approach (as first developed by Lave and Wenger) to study settler discourse. I consider how the community of practice develops a shared repertoire—a crystallization of specialized knowledge and shared experiences—through which its members reflect on and organize their practice in a process of meaning-making that is continually negotiated and renegotiated. I find that the interpretive repertoires employed by this group of Indigenous Relations Specialist colleagues often rely on temporally-ordered accounts, which are used to organize responsibilities for colonialism, as well as the distribution of benefits and harms in the area of Aboriginal consultation more specifically. I advocate a feminist research ethic (following especially Haraway, Shotwell, and TallBear, and critique developed by Simpson) that works with such negotiation in more nuanced and deeply implicated relations to the tradition of knowledge that we critique— engaging in readings that amplify (by simultaneously acknowledging and unsettling) accounts of the ways in which we are involved in one another’s lives. This research represents the beginnings of my exploration into what it means to be in relation with the subject of one’s critique, toward the development of a conception of situatedness that recognizes not only who or what we claim to know, but also who and what claims us.

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Indigenous struggle against suburbia: Eleanor Ainge Roy, ‘Will Jacinda come? Māori pin their hopes on PM in fight for sacred site’, The Guardian, 04/08/19

04Aug19

Excerpt: Over the gentle green and golden curves of Ihumātao, colourful tents have spawned. To the west, glimpses of blue water flicker in the winter sun, and to the south, jumbo jets land at New Zealand’s largest airport, three miles down the road. But the jet engines fail to drown out the singing voices, the shouts of excited te reo (the Māori language) and the clatter of cooking pots heaving with food.

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Ecopsychology and the decoloonisation of settler colonialism: Adam Spires, ‘Introduction to the Special Issue on Indigenous Decolonization’, Ecopsychology, 11, 3, 2019, pp. 1-4

04Aug19

Excerpt: The aim of this special issue is to open a space for Indigenous epistemology to broaden our understanding of humannature interconnections, and to prompt scholars to further explore ecopsychology’s capacity for social engagement. Indigenous perspectives can help restore and protect sacred bonds with the earth. The articles in this special issue are informed by Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge (ITEK), brought forth by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars and by the testimonies of Indigenous Elders. The articles show that ecopsychology can contribute to Indigenous-led decolonization movements, even as it remains clear that that proposition carries with it some inherent contradictions.

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‘Reflections’ seems appropriate: Stephanie E. Smallwood, ‘Reflections on Settler Colonialism, the Hemispheric Americas, and Chattel Slavery’, The William and Mary Quarterly, 76, 3, 2019, pp. 407-416

04Aug19

Access the article here:

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Data and food sovereignty is decolonisation: Michelle D. Johnson-Jennings, Derek R. Jennings, Meg M. Little, ‘Indigenous data sovereignty in action: The Food Wisdom Repository’, Journal of Indigenous Wellbeing, 4, 1, 2019, pp. 26-38

04Aug19

Abstract: The rapidly expanding digital ecosystem has placed Indigenous data sovereignty (IDS) in high relief. The context of what, how, when, why, and by whom data is collected and controlled determines social narratives. Colonised data and data over which Indigenous people have sovereignty can produce vastly different results in decision-making, policy development, outcome assessment, and accountability. The authors, while at the Research for Indigenous Community Health (RICH) Center, recognised that while health information is available, it is currently dispersed, disconnected, and difficult to access. Thus they proposed the development of a Food Wisdom Repository (Repository), with support from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, to provide an abundance of meaningful data, resources, and information sharing opportunities emerging from Indigenous health efforts. Drawing from the existing health needs, extant literature, and guidance from their external advisory committee, the authors proposed the development of an online digital repository of wise food practices that is grounded within Indigenous knowledges (IK) and IDS. The theoretical framework underlying the Repository is explained, including IDS that centres and privileges an Indigenous worldview, IK, and wise practices in order to reverse the wave of biased or omitted data affecting Indigenous communities. Future plans for the online digital Repository include ongoing needs assessments, and hosting strengths-based data and stories that resist, recollect, and reclaim Indigenous ways of health, wellness, as well as innovations to address challenges in the field of Indigenous food, nutrition, health, and wellness.

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Indigenous choice is sovereignty: Ee-Seul Yoon, Lyn D. Daniels, ‘At the Margins of Canada: School Choice Practices of Aboriginal Families in a Settler-Colonial City’, Educational Policy, 2019

04Aug19

Abstract: Little is known about the school choice practices of Aboriginal families in settler-colonial societies, where they have been removed from their ancestral lands and/or have been subjected to discriminatory educational policies. Through the lens of settler-colonial theory, this study elucidates the spatially positioned school choice practices of Aboriginal families in a Canadian city. It explores their desires to choose schools and identifies their sociospatial constraints that result from historical marginalization and racism. It delineates how racial segregation in schools increased, as Aboriginal families’ school choice has been limited primarily to low-income, racialized parts of the city that face school closure due to low enrollment. In addition, this article analyzes the exclusion of Aboriginal students from prestigious schools-of-choice programs in the public education system. The study concludes that the neoliberal policy of school choice offers limited options to Aboriginal families, especially given the settler-colonial context of the city where they reside.

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Nonterritorial sovereignty? Bertus De Villiers, ‘Chasing The Dream – Self-Determination on a Non-territorial Basis for the Noongar Traditional Owners in the South West of Australia’, International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 2019

02Aug19

Abstract: Self-determination for Aboriginal people in Australia has been a long sought after yet difficult objective to reach. The recently concluded Noongar Settlement in the state of Western Australia opens new opportunities and could potentially set a new benchmark for non-territorial autonomy and self-government for an Aboriginal community. The Noongar Settlement exceeds the more traditional settlements of a native title claim since it provides elaborate institutions for self-government albeit by way of private bodies corporate. The bodies corporate for the Noongar people would enable them to make and administer decisions; offer services; undertake management of public conservation areas; and advocate for the best interests of their community. This privatised form of self-government may not only provide new impetus to other land claim processes in Australia, it may also address the often-heard demands from Aboriginal people for a treaty to be entered into between themselves and the government of Australia.

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Red face: Daniel Keyes, ‘Whites Singing Red Face in British Columbia in the 1950s’, Theatre Research in Canada, 2019

02Aug19

Abstract: In 1954, two red faced operas where created in British Columbia by white women: Barbara Pentland’s The Lake imagines the Okanagan from the point of view of Susan Alison, the first white women settler in the region while Lillian Estabrooks and Mary Costley’s Ashnola: A Legend of Sings Water offers a Gilbert and Sullivan cross-dressed version of pre-European contact Aboriginals. This article analyzes these operas and other 1950s texts like newspaper articles and populist histories of British Columbia to demonstrate how invader settlers seek to control the Other semiotically via red face and thus gain a sense of identity that ameliorates their settler status to make them “native.” Red face in these operas betray an imperial sense of melancholy as white women use it to trouble patriarchy while enforcing white privilege. The paper concludes by considering the persistence of neo-colonial red face in the Canadian national imaginary.

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Survival of the settler subject: Lee Frew, ‘”A Whole New Take on Indigenous”: Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake as Wild Animal Story’, Studies in Canadian Literature, 2019

02Aug19

Excerpt: As such, Atwood’s novel inevitably rehearses the expedient disavowal of Second World cultural nationalism: ongoing colonizing acts are obscured by the text’s privileging of a settler subject-position imagined as beset by the imperium of modernity.

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