protopia
v. 1
UVU CENTER FOR SOCIAL IMPACT
2021
(n.) a state that is better today than yesterday
Decolonizing Social Impact:
Rejecting Our Colonial Past in Exchange for Collective Liberation
We would like to acknowledge that as authors and contributors to this publication, we reside on Indigenous land. We honor Indigenous peoples, and hope to hold ourselves accountable to the necessity of the work of decolonization.
Decolonizing Social Impact:
Rejecting Our Colonial Past in Exchange for Collective Liberation
CO-AUTHORED BY CSI IMPACT FELLOWS AND CASSIE BINGHAM, WITH CONTRIBUTING EDITS FROM TINO DIAZ DESIGNED BY STAUNEY HANSEN
Contents Introduction 1 Direct Service
3
Community Engaged Learning & Research
11
Social Entrepreneurship & Corporate Social Responsibility 19 Policy & Governance
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Community Organizing & Activism
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Philanthropy
43
Travel
51
Media 59 Sources 67
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Introduction Colonization is the process of foreign invaders seizing control of land and enforcing new forms of governance, religion, culture, and resource extraction. It is often accomplished through violence and forceful displacement of Indigenous populations. Decolonization - the act of reversing the effects of colonization - cannot happen without a clear understanding of the colonial history of European settlers and their global domination. Western colonization created the means by which certain narratives - often anti-Indigenous and discriminatory - discipline our lives. For this reason, Eve Tuck and Wayne Yang assert that decolonization is the process of disrupting our colonial foundations. They argue that decolonization is not a metaphor. Instead, as Sylvia Wynter claims, it is praxis, a means to trouble the colonial frames that pervade our interactions and worldviews while engaging alternative, ancestral, and imaginative possibilities. Relationships are a central aspect of decolonization, and all over the world Indigenous peoples are demanding stronger and healthier relations between humans as well as with land and water. Decolonization is another way of being human, in a world that has centered human subjectivity to specific forms of exploitative power. Ultimately, decolonization is complex, layered, and contextual; but at the center of
it all, it is a grounded attempt to be whole in all ways, with all things, and all people.
Explanation of Zine Structure It is our acknowledgement and understanding that decolonization is not static or fixed, and as part of an institutional university, we wrestle with the tension and incommensurability of enacting decolonial concepts and practices through our work. Nevertheless, this zine is an endeavor to bring better understanding of the historical contexts and actors involved in attempts at decolonial practice within the fields of social impact. We explore a decolonial lens through the six Pathways of Social Impact, a framework adopted by the UVU Center for Social Impact and developed in 2010 by Stanford University's Haas Center for Public Service. These include: direct service, community engaged learning and research, social entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility, policy and governance, community organizing and activism, and philanthropy. An article is included for each pathway, and we have chosen to include two additional articles on travel and media, fields that greatly influence social impact practice. Each article is structured in a way that briefly introduces
the topic, reviews its colonial history, and offers current examples of attempts at decolonial practice. We define the six Pathways of Social Impact as follows: 1. D irect Service: Working to address the immediate needs of individuals or a community, often involving contact with the people or places being served. 2. C ommunity Engaged Learning and Research: Connecting coursework and academic research to community identified concerns to enrich knowledge and inform action on social issues. 3. Social Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility: Using ethical private sector approaches to create or expand market-oriented responses to social problems. 4. Policy and Governance: Participating in political processes, policymaking, and public governance. 5. C ommunity Organizing and Activism: Involving, educating, and mobilizing individual or collective action to influence or persuade others.
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6. Philanthropy: Donating or using private funds or charitable contributions from individuals or institutions to contribute to the public good. We own that these are engagements defined by Western ideologies, but that reality empowers us to utilize decolonial and Indigenous frameworks to both subvert colonial mentalities and (re)center the logics of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities and seek a better relationship with humanity, animals, land, and water.
Graphic Designer’s Note While designing this zine, I was constantly reminded that the influence of colonization extends even to the field of visual design. It was a struggle to find fonts and graphics by artists of color, and even difficult to find artwork depicting people of color and accurate portrayals of non-Western culture. While not perfect, I have attempted to decolonize my own practice by sourcing visuals from artists of color where possible and utilizing images that portray communities in a dignified light.
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Decolonizing Direct Service CHLOE LOVELAND
W
hen done well, direct service should not be performative, or necessarily easy, or even temporary. Instead direct service should be on-going and collaborative. When serving communities especially those foreign to our own - we are asking to be welcomed into another’s world. Therefore, service should be accompanied by the acknowledgement of a community’s abilities, stories, experiences, and independence. We should view communities as inherently empowered, with or without us. Direct service is not a call to rescue, pity, convert, or reprimand. Instead, it asks those with privilege to leverage their power in ways that create equity for all. If nothing else, direct service should be showing up, listening, and supporting. Additionally, direct service is typically what comes to mind for many when they think about social impact. However, it must be clarified that this approach is only one way to improve communities. Service
- whether being utilized to mitigate the effects of social inequality, public health outcomes, climate change, or any other social ill - is just one tool in the toolbox, and it will never be the only apparatus needed to resolve a complex social problem. Effective direct service is done in combination with a variety of social change approaches. It is also executed after asking major questions needed to maintain accountability. These might include: Who am I helping? What is the historical context of this community? Why is relief needed in the first place? Who are the stakeholders in the issue being addressed? Who holds the power to make decisions and why? What are the outcomes and consequences of my actions? Although these questions may seem obvious to ask, the truth is direct service has a history of reinforcing colonial structures and white supremacy, rendering close examination imperative.
Direct Service
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Colonial Background Colonization has been conflated with and justified as “service” going back centuries. During the Middle Ages, the Crusades were marked by bloody violence justified as a noble God-given calling. A more modern example of colonization can be seen in the 2001 implementation of the “War on Terror’’ campaign, when President George W. Bush launched invasions in Afghanistan and Iraq in the name of “global freedom.” The Vice President at the time, Dick Cheney, was quoted as saying, “my belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators.” The reality of Iraqi citizens, however, proved quite different as violence increased and unstable relationships were developed that did not take account of the cultural complexities of the region. To this day, we are a military presence in Iraq with no foreseeable solution where we can withdraw. This is an example of how neocolonialism –using military violence for the sake of self-interest– is often masked by messages of moral obligation and peace building. Although many forms of casual direct service do not go so far as to claim military
Direct Service
violence as beneficial, many people still justify attitudes of white supremacy and colonial mentalities as a natural part of “doing good” in the world. Communities are told what to do without being listened to or elevated to the status of co-collaborators and decision makers. Stories of direct service are marked by highlighting white protagonists and their “selfless” work, while putting poor and often black or brown counterparts in a light of condescension and helplessness. Volunteers engage in service work they are not qualified for. Money is poured into service activities such as “voluntourism” (travel vacations mixed with service projects, often abroad) that bring visibility to white volunteers, while turning a blind eye to the real needs of a community. This type of behavior has been labeled the White Savior Industrial Complex, a term coined by Nigerian-American writer Teju Cole. In the book No More Heroes Jordan Flaherty describes the prototypical savior as a “person who has been raised in privilege and taught implicitly or explicitly (or both) that they posses the answers and skills needed to save others, no matter the situation….They are taught that saving others is the burden they must bear.”
Direct Service
White saviorism and colonialism go handin-hand. Both are built on the belief that Westerners, primarily those who are white and monetarily privileged, are automatically qualified and hold expertise by default because of their socioeconomic status, or the economic or social status of their country. To combat white saviorism, the decolonization of direct service is necessary. Decolonization in the context of direct service can be interpreted as understanding the history of communities and respecting their self-determination, even while engaging in collaborative service. By doing this, we are less likely to engage in an ego-driven manner and can form a deeper connection to the communities we aim to serve. Direct service should never be motivated by an urge to push ethnocentric agendas, signal our own morality, or bring visibility to ourselves as heroes. Every individual should be treated and portrayed with dignity, and every individual deserves the right to lift themselves up and make their own decisions for their community and their family. Fortunately, some organizations are finding ways to facilitate direct service in decolonized ways.
“Stories of direct service are marked by highlighting white protagonists and their “selfless” work, while putting poor and often black or brown counterparts in a light of condescension and helplessness.”
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Teju Cole
Direct Service
Examples of Decolonization Learning to critically evaluate organizations before supporting them through volunteer work is an integral part of decolonizing direct service, and allows for true improvement and innovation. Through decolonizing service, we can cultivate a world based on mutual respect, trust, and equity. While no organization is perfect, the following organizations provide us examples of community-focused service that helps create dignity, share power, and respect autonomy. Utah Diné Bikéyah (UDB) (https://utahdinebikeyah.org) is an innovative nonprofit that adopts a data-driven and equitable approach to direct service. Utah Diné Bikéyah’s Traditional Food Program identifies “holistic solutions that restore Native American traditional food practices relating to wild foods, hunting rituals, and traditional farming practices, as well as the identification of traditional food recipes and cooking practices.” UDB involves community members every step of the way as they conduct traditional food assessments in San Juan County to reach several Native American
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tribes and record Native wisdom and practices when it comes to food cultivation. Recently, UDB partnered with Red Butte Garden and the Natural History Museum of Utah to apply Indigenous wisdom to expand potato production on Indigenous lands. This project involves UDB and their partners providing a one-day training session to Indigenous communities on commercially growing, harvesting, and marketing the food they grow.
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Population Works Africa (https://www. popworksafrica.org) is a collective of skilled Black women consultants that utilize their 25 years plus of experience to address Africa’s most pressing issues by helping “disrupt the historically white space of power in international development.” The organization provides consulting to NGOs to support the planning, budgeting, and allocation of international development monetary funds and to support the strategization of youthled movements in the francophone African region. Their approach to social problems not only involves local communities that are actually affected by an issue, but also acknowledges and engages with various collaborative stakeholders that are involved in the problem –NGOs– community partners, governments, donors, etc. Population Works Africa actively works toward dismantling colonialism within the social impact world and attempts to revolutionize how direct service and development is approached in Africa.
Direct Service
Conclusion It is easy to feel discouraged and confused when we start to realize that what we thought were innocent forms of service may actually be methods of reinforcing colonial mindsets. Issues like these are so deeply integrated into our systems that it can feel overwhelming. However, the only way to begin the process of decolonization is to courageously shift away from the myth that we can save communities through a false sense of Western superiority. A (re)knowing of the world and our fellow humans is necessary to view direct service as something that is performed in relationship with communities versus for them. It is critical that we search throughout ancestral ways of being to (re)imagine new forms of living. More than just serving, direct service must first come to terms with what it means to be with one another. If we truly desire to serve each other, forming a genuine connection, understanding each other, and collaborating as co-equals is absolutely necessary.
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Decolonizing Community Engaged Learning & Research TAYLOR BELL
C
ommunity engaged learning and research are a critical part of pedagogy within university and other academic spaces today. This practice includes experiential learning activities and research methodologies that extend from the classroom into real-world applications. This exists in many forms, including service learning, study abroad, internships, and capstone projects that occur in the greater community. Because of the value in connecting coursework to interactive community experiences, the outcomes of such programs and projects can improve society and better human connection. When done correctly, community engaged learning and research stakeholders create space for solutions of issues through knowledge sharing, defining challenges, and fostering trust and mutual understanding. Unfortunately, these positive results are not always the case, and community engaged learning and research
that draw from imperialistic habits have adverse and damaging outcomes.
Colonial Background The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines research as “investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts, or practical application of such new or revised theories or laws.” As noble as this sounds, often research has been executed from an initial foundation of Western world-views and ways of knowing. The injustices of colonization were justified through the belief that Westerners’ lifestyles and approaches to society were more enlightened and superior to those of the Indigenous peoples they displaced. Modern day research practices often unintentionally operate under this same myth, by studying marginalized
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Community Engaged Learning & Research
“When done correctly, community engaged learning and research stakeholders create space for solutions of issues through knowledge sharing, defining challenges, and fostering trust and mutual understanding.”
communities and interpreting their cultures through selective Western theories and mentalities. Linda Tuhiwai Smith, an Indigenous Moari scholar, challenges the claim of Western research benefiting humankind. In her book Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples she explores how “the ways and the spirit in which data were collected around the colonized world, guided by notions of classification and progressive evolution of mankind, reflected less the cultural realities of the colonized, than contemporaneous Western constructions of gender, race and class.” She argues that extreme power imbalances created by colonialism have distorted the ability for communities to define their own paradigms. Similarly, community engaged learning, if not mindful of community-identified needs and collaborations, can follow colonial footprints by employing practices of “white saviorism.” This behavior is pervasive through programs utilizing “service projects” as avenues for community engaged learning, especially when students with more privilege and access visit underrepresented communities, often of color, and employ a savior mentality
Community Engaged Learning & Research
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accompanied by dehumanizing attitudes of condescension, pity, and paternalism. Often such “community engaged learning” is not bolstered through critical analysis of systems nor led by educators who represent the communities being visited. Finally, among both community engaged learning and research, credibility has not yet been divested from traditional forms of Western power. Often the expertise relied on so heavily by these fields is sought after only from top-tier, majority white-led universities, multi-degreed academic scholars, and powerful governmental and corporate stakeholders. In addition, not only is this knowledge limited to Western colonial definitions of expertise, but is often made inaccessible to underprivileged communities, through digital paywalls, hefty speaker and consulting fees, or the costliness of travel.
Examples of Decolonization Modern education and research continue to be viewed through a highly westernized lens. However, communities who hold essential knowledge and skills that have been historically disregarded are reclaiming
power, and more organizations are starting to shift towards decolonization by including their voices. The following are just a couple of examples of efforts to dismantle prevailing power structures and colonial prejudices. The BIPOC Project (https://www.thebipocproject.org) is a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) led movement focused on education through solidarity as a way of combating the continued harm resulting from colonialism and white supremacy. The organization focuses on the following principles: “decolonizing stories, analyzing how power varies due to racial hierarchy, uplifting native and black
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Community Engaged Learning & Research
Community Engaged Learning & Research
humanity, organizing people by calling in for understanding, building into group connections and relationships, and a commitment to personal and collective healing.” The BIPOC Project incorporates these principles into half and full-day workshops that create space for group connection and anti-racist advocacy. They focus on community engaged learning that amplifies voices that historically have been silenced due to the legacy of colonization. The Blavatnik Institute of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School is an academic institution working to improve the STEM field through its commitment to decolonized research labs and learning spaces. In order to engage in better community-building work, the institute uses ten steps outlined by Dr. V Bala Chaudhary of DePaul University and Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe of the University of California in order to create anti-racist scientific labs: “1. Lead informed discussions about anti-racism in your lab regularly, 2. Address racism in your lab and field safety guidelines, 3. Publish papers and write grants with BIPOC colleagues, 4. Evaluate your lab’s
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mentoring practices, 5. Amplify voices of BIPOC scientists in your field, 6. Support BIPOC in their efforts to organize, 7. Intentionally recruit BIPOC students and staff, 8. Adopt a dynamic research plan, 9. advocate for racially diverse leadership in science, 10. Hold the powerful accountable and don’t expect gratitude.” These steps focus on equity practice and unlearning behaviors that have historically oppressed BIPOC educators, researchers, and experts. Through this system, individuals of privilege work to diversify thought and redistribute power, while recognizing such actions are not an opportunity for self-recognition; instead, they are necessary and critical parts of decolonized research practice. The Blavatnik Institute also emphasizes the importance of BIPOC educators and their work in academic spaces such as classroom discussions, professional conferences, research, and social media platforms.
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Linda Tuhiwai Smith
Community Engaged Learning & Research
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Conclusion Community engaged learning and research hold an important place in social impact and systems change. Western nations hold great access to technology and information, but achieved this through the colonization of not only land and resources, but also knowledge and culture. In order to decolonize practices of learning and research, our society must value critical education, discussion, and action when it comes to systems of oppression. It is also vital that underrepresented communities are listened to, allowed to lead out in community engagement activities, and given the opportunity to inform research and epistemology.
As stated by Indigenous researcher, Dr. Derek Kornelsen, “community engagement, when done in a decolonizing way, is very much about building genuinely respectful relationships...In this sense, decolonizing community engagement means building community — a critical mass of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people that will hold governments, institutions, and industry accountable, ensuring that Indigenous rights are understood and upheld.”
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Decolonizing Social Entrepreneurship & Corporate Social Responsibility BENJAMIN DANIELS
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ithin the reality of a capitalistic society founded on colonialism, how do we begin to decolonize and implement sustainable practice? New modes of interpreting responsible enterprise are a start, but in order to more fully ideate where we can go, we must first acknowledge the past and hold ourselves accountable to a more ethical future. First, it is important to differentiate the definitions of social entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility. Social entrepreneurship as a well-known business practice was mainstreamed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank. The bank provided Bangladeshi citizens of low socioeconomic status with microloans to help provide small
amounts of capital that could go a long way for local entrepreneurs.The microloan model worked, providing a way out of poverty for poor citizens and creating a system where loan repayment was extraordinarily high. Yunus showed that it was possible for a for-profit entity to both make money and give back to society. Social entrepreneurship became a more visible field, and is now defined as using private sector approaches to combat social and environmental issues. As for corporate social responsibility (CSR), the historical roots of this practice extend back to the 1950s, as society grappled with the immense power of corporations, and whether they were obligated to give back to their communities. Howard Bowen, considered the father of CSR,
Muhammad Yunus
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Social Entrepreneurship & Corporate Social Responsibility
wrote the book The Social Responsibilities of the Businessman, published in 1953, in which he defined CSR as, “the obligations of businessmen to...make those decisions...that are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society.” Today the definition has become, “a self-regulating business model that helps a company be socially accountable—to itself, its stakeholders, and the public.” Many social enterprises now attempt to practice CSR by expanding from pursuing the singular bottom line of profit, to what is called the “triple bottom line” —a company’s duty to generate profit, but also meet their obligation to the planet and to people. Social entrepreneurship and CSR work to utilize market forces within capitalism for good. However, a truly ethical approach to the field of business must examine the foundations upon which it was built, even if they are unflattering. Modern day capitalism is inextricably linked to colonization, both in terms of an enduring legacy of exploitation used to make profit, and in regards to wealth gaps proliferated through discriminatory practices against marginalized communities.
Colonial Background Colonization was marked by the brutal oppression and exploitation of humans — often people of color— in order to open new markets and create material profit for colonizers. For example, the violent displacement of Indigenous people made it possible for colonizers to seize land, which they quickly privatized in order to create a real estate market. The enslavement of Black people in the United States was a way to generate wealth quickly through free labor. Today, capitalism continues to be influenced by colonial beginnings, with white Americans being the most likely to have inherited wealth and capital to invest or start businesses, and the most likely to own land and real estate. Additionally, large corporations that generate massive amounts of wealth almost always do so through the exploitation of humans, often in the Global South, or through other forms of cheap labor, such as through immigrants or prison labor. Samir Amin, an Egyptian economist, argues that colonialism and capitalism “are inseparable.”
Social Entrepreneurship & Corporate Social Responsibility
He states, “Capitalism has been colonial, more precisely imperialist, during all the most notable periods of its development. The conquest of the Americas by the Spaniards and Portuguese in the 16th century, then by the French and the British, was the first modern form of imperialism and colonization: an extremely brutal form which resulted in the genocide of the Indians of North America, Indian societies in Latin America thrown into slavery and black slavery through the whole continent, north and south. Beyond this example, by following a logic of precise deployment through the different stages of its history, we can see that capitalism has constructed a consistent dichotomy of relations between a centre (the heart of the system of capitalist exploitation) and the periphery (made up of dominated countries and peoples).” A jarring example is the development of Trans-National Corporations (TNCs) that have exploited the Niger Delta region without regard for social good or the environment. Through oil production, TNCs have had destructive effects, including the loss of agriculture, damage to fishing and other
“A truly ethical approach to the field of business must examine the foundations upon which it was built, even if they are unflattering.”
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Social Entrepreneurship & Corporate Social Responsibility
local industries, and causing detrimental harm to already impoverished communities. In addition, because of the quick profits of oil production, TNCs have failed to invest in the development of better technologies that could lead to renewable energy sources, cleaner water, better local supply chains, and more employment opportunities for local communities. The insatiable appetite for unlimited growth among large corporations like TNCs is undeniably reminiscent of colonization and its willingness to exploit and destroy in exchange for material gain.
Examples of Decolonization It is plain to see that the field of social entrepreneurship and CSR has a long way to go in unraveling the private sector from unethical practices with roots in colonialism. Not only do these practices need to give back to communities, but they must find a way to fundamentally lead business towards a mode that does not exploit. First steps might include giving opportunity to underrepresented communities, by promoting individuals of color and women to positions of leadership, and listening to their opinions. Traditional organizational structures might also need to change to better emphasize
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community rather than hierarchy, and sustainability rather than unlimited growth. Fortunately some entrepreneurs are leading out in new ways of engaging in business practice that more closely resemble decolonized ideals. Here are a few highlights: Uptima Entrepreneur Collective (https:// uptimacoop.com) was founded by Rani Langer-Croager, an immigrant and woman of color. After personally experiencing and observing the difficulty underrepresented entrepreneurs can face when it comes to business support, Langer-Croager was inspired to found a collective that focused on providing a space where long-term resources and pathways to success could be provided. Uptima Entrepreneur Collective provides “ holistic and culturally relevant
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Social Entrepreneurship & Corporate Social Responsibility
education, advising, and community to support diverse entrepreneurs in creating thriving businesses in service to their communities.” Uptima is made of an almost entirely nonwhite staff, focuses on leading businesses to improve their local communities, and has helped over 700 diverse entrepreneurs. Raven Indigenous Capital Partners (https://ravencapitalpartners.ca), located in Canada, is an Indigenous-owned consulting company dedicated to impact investing - the practice of making investments that have positive social or environmental impacts in addition to financial returns. This firm seeks to invest in Indigenous business in order to bridge the gap between access to traditional forms of capital and Indigenous entrepreneurs who are often excluded and marginalized, while strengthening Indigenous economies. They state, “we operate from the perspective of the Indigenous world view. We follow traditional Indigenous protocols, we work for the well being of people and the planet, and we acknowledge our responsibility to the next seven generations.”
Conclusion So, where can we go from here? How do we move entrepreneurship and business beyond exploitative practices stemmed from colonialism? As long as our current systems of oppression that have long upheld corporations remain the same, social entrepreneurship and CSR will be in danger of remaining colonial. Society must be imaginative in pioneering new ways of reconciling with a pervasive system of capitalistic markets and global trade, while also decolonizing in support of a healthy planet and happy people. The economist Kate Raworth presents us with one such imaginative example with her proposal of the “Doughnut,” an economic framework where profit goals stay within the ethical space of meeting human needs while not exceeding the level of production that Earth can ecologically sustain. Some may balk at the idea of advocating for companies to reject goals of unlimited growth - but radical rejection of old colonial methods in exchange for the embracing of new decolonial practices might be just what the world needs.
Social Entrepreneurship & Corporate Social Responsibility
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Decolonizing Policy & Governance JACQUELYN COVEY
A
ll but five countries in the world were completely or partially colonized by European settler-empires. The colonization of these countries extends beyond the initial act of seizing Indigenous lands to our present day. The legacy of colonization is the de jure enforcement of European systems of religion, education, government, and ways of being. Native American political activist, John Trudell, said “If colonialism made the modern world, decolonization cannot be complete until the world —including Europe— is remade.” To decolonize our world is to dismantle the political, economic, and cultural status quo that colonial ideologies are superior to Indigenous approaches, and in its place, remake and revitalize our society with Indigenous knowledge. The settler-empires of Europe and, by extension, the United States, are governments whose governance is colonial in
nature. Viewed through the lens of Policy and Governance, the process of decolonization begins with the dignifying and valuing of Indigenous ways of being, laws, and governments - not only as totally legitimate, but as excellent models of governance.
Colonial Background The view that the earth is an endless resource of raw materials that can be exploited for gain is a settler-colonial ideology that must be deconstructed. In their world-view, the non-European Native peoples they encountered were less than human and were wasting the land. Native Americans were spiritually and physically connected to the land. Symbiosis with the natural world was central to their way of life. They honored their place in nature and understood the earth to be their Mother, giver of all life. Every animal and force in nature had a spirit and an important role to play in the
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ecosystem. From the Indigenous worldview, the concept of owning land, let alone pillaging and destroying it for riches, was unfathomable. In the 1700s, European settlers extracted all they could: fish, whale, meat, furs, oil, gold, and minerals. Indigenous nations reigned with sovereignty in the lands between the growing number of European settlements, but the foundations of colonization were laid. Settlers turned to colonizers, and by the 1800s, they had organized in number, law, and political might to subjugate and gain control of Native peoples and their lands. Ultimately, the colonization process resulted in Indigenous peoples’ severance from their traditional ways of life, intergenerational trauma, and an unwanted dependence on the settler-colonizer nation of the United States. The U.S. government has a violent history of acting upon Native peoples. The federal government dissolved tribal governments when it saw fit and reengineered those same governments when facilitating extractive industry better suited their interests. The American tradition of abuse of Native Peoples and the land will continue so long as the colonial mindset created by the settler-empire remains intact.
Policy & Governance
All people will benefit from the decolonization of our current political ideologies. If we replace ideology that allows for the devastation of our planet with Indigenous wisdom that we are all connected to each other and the land, we will discover that wealth is found in that interconnectedness. Decolonization, followed by indigenization, contributes to a world where shared understanding opens opportunities for relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. This type of ethic confronts the dominance of settler colonization within history and governance. The United States government champions competition, individualism, and “success.” Conversely, the governance of Indigenous peoples is traditionally oriented around the values of happiness, sharing, group well-being, and respect for the environment. Native American governments have strong similarities one to another, but Native Peoples are not a monolith. They make up the most culturally diverse group in the United States. The structure of society, family life, religion, language, attire, architecture, and cultural practices greatly differ between tribes. Though distinct, tribes across the continent share a history in developing economic and government systems with well-defined roles and
Policy & Governance
responsibilities. They govern in ways that promote group involvement and consensus in decision-making, ultimately fostering harmonious relations with tribes, land, and a cosmological understanding of the universe.
Examples of Decolonization An important lesson can be learned from the hollow decolonization efforts of the French government. President Emmanuel Macron created a commission to return objects in French museums that were stolen from sub-Saharan Africa. The commission decided that of the 90,000 items identified, France would return 26, or 0.02%. To date, only one item has actually been returned. Decolonizing museums in France has proved to be an insincere endeavour to return Indigenous treasures to Indigenous peoples. Accountability is essential in order to ensure that decolonization efforts do not become mere platitudes and fall short of indigenization and reconciliation. The work of decolonization must be articulated by Native Peoples, then non-Indigenous people and settler governments alike must commit to real, measurable steps in carrying out that work.
“The governance of Indigenous peoples is traditionally oriented around the values of happiness, sharing, group well-being, and respect for the environment.”
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Policy & Governance
Policy & Governance
An encouraging example in governmental decolonization is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRCC), which spanned from 2008-2015. At the center of the commission’s work were 94 calls-to-action demanded by First Nations people. These action-items oriented around the government’s obligation to reconcile the systemic intergenerational oppression experienced by First Nations peoples. Other items included retelling history in truth, justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women, Indigenous-informed education, dignifying the lived-experiences of First Nations communities and improving their outcomes. There has been some debate as to whether the Canadian government has followed through on its commitments to implement these action-items. This criticism is due, in part, to the continued over-policing of Indigenous peoples and inequity in the legal system. Some healing and progress was enjoyed by First Nations people during the seven years the TRCC was active, but it is unfortunate that the Canadian government ultimately disbanded the commission. This decision points to the unreasonable belief that seven years of decolonization efforts is sufficient to account for centuries of colonial oppression. The
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implementation of the 94 calls-to-action is still considered the optimal path forward in Canadian decolonization. The United Nations is a global governing body leading efforts in decolonization worldwide. The UN assists non-self-governing territories in developing free political institutions according to their own standards. The Decolonization Unit in the Political and Peace Building Affairs department holds seminars on decolonization in the Pacific and Carribean, recommends new resolutions for settler-governments to adopt, and visits non-self-governing territories on a yearly basis to monitor conditions on the ground. At the time of the UN’s founding in
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1946 there were 72 non-self-governing territories and 750 million people —nearly one third of the world’s population— living in territories that were dependent on colonial powers. By 2020, these figures shrunk to 17 non-self-governing territories and 2 million people living in non-selfgoverning territories. Beyond the UN’s commitment to ensure peoples’ just treatment and protection from abuses, they work to ensure the “political, economic, social, and educational advancement” of these territories according to the peoples’ aspirations. Walter Mignolo, an Argentine academic, supports this model of operating. “Self-determination,” he says, “is a means to delink from settler-colonial ideas of power. It is community-driven and modeled after ancestral ways of governance and being.”
Conclusion Decolonization work should not be left to Indigenous people alone. On an individual level, non-Indigenous people can acknowledge to whom the unceded land they reside on belonged. Individuals can commit to recognize the contributions of Indigenous
Policy & Governance
people, elevate their voices in public discourse, and never allow or perpetuate stereotypes that disparage Native Peoples and their ways of life. Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike can hold the United States government accountable to the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We can unite in the fight against voter disenfranchisement of Native Americans and insist that Indigenous knowledge and history be taught in school curriculums. Finally, we must demand that the United States government free its colonies and give those peoples the democratic rights they deserve. For some, their decolonization work is from inside the colonial political system, materializing as incremental victories for Indigenous Peoples. For others, decolonization will be rooted in the revitalization of their community and reconnection to ancestral ways of being. In any case, decolonization isn’t a seven-year project. The road to indigenization is long. Centuries of colonization formed the modern American political structure. In accordance, the work of detangling ourselves from colonial mindsets must span generations.
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Decolonizing Community Organizing & Activism KIRA SMALLS
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n any given day you might observe a neighborhood mural bringing attention to the effects of pollution on the world’s oceans, a group of animal rights activists holding a demonstration while facilitating educational conversations, or social media posts with various consciousness-raising messages about race or sexuality. Activism has many different forms, but is defined specifically as action rendered to sway the public in regards to a social cause. Activism is also usually the result of community organizing, the intentional mobilizing of individuals to engage in collective, persuasive action. Some of the first instances of community organizing in the U.S. extend back to the colonial period. Shoemakers went on the first recorded U.S. strike for higher wages in
1786. During the industrial revolution, factory workers went on strike and began to organize the first unions to advocate for labor rights. Long before what is now know as the Civil Rights Movement, Black people in the U.S. organized to fight against racism and slavery. A few examples include Nat Turner’s 1831 Rebellion and Harriet Tubman’s efforts to free slaves and work within the Underground Railroad. However, much of what comes to mind for Americans in regards to community organizing and activism occured much later. The Women’s Suffrage movement of the early 1900’s fought for the right to vote for women. The Civil Rights Era of the 1950’s and 60’s included the organizing of Black activists in community spaces such as churches, to develop strategies of activism
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Commmunity Organizing & Activism
Recounting the history of activism shows the accessibility of this approach to social change. The title activist can belong to anyone who is passionate about a cause and willing to take action to persuade and apply pressure. However, community organizers have started to recognize the importance of critically examining how people engage with activism, because although this approach is often recognized for its propensity for radicalism, it has not totally escaped the influence of colonialism.
Colonial Background and pressure on the state. Martin Luther King, Jr. became the face of nonviolent activism with organizers executing diner sit-ins, bus boycotts, marches, and more. Other activist leaders like Malcom X and the Black Panthers took a more militant approach. In the 1960’s and 70’s LGBTQ+ activists organized and brought visibility through the Stonewall Riots, started by prominent leaders like Marsha P. Johnson, a Black trans woman. Today, we have recently observed the organizing of activist movements ranging from the Women’s March, the March for Our Lives, the Standing Rock protests, and Black Lives Matter.
As activists and organizers, many people have their intentions in the right place, but ignorance and prevalence of colonial mindsets can deter progress and create negative impact, despite intention. A large part of activism is advocating for historically oppressed and silenced communities; therefore, white and privileged allies often mean well, but can fall into the trap of colonizing even activist spaces if they are not mindful and aware. One form of colonized activism is the co-option of activist movements by corporations looking to profit off of trendy messages. Often companies that utilize
Commmunity Organizing & Activism
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Commmunity Organizing & Activism
“Oftentimes the same colonial systems we are fighting have so deeply influenced our minds that we still choose to recognize the white and privileged above activists of color who have been doing the work just as long.”
colonial practices themselves, whether in the form of discriminatory behavior towards underrepresented communities or through exploitative profit models, employ what has been coined as “performative activism.” This includes adopting the language or symbols of activism (such as a hashtag or symbolic colors) with the motivation of selling a product rather than genuine passion for the cause. Another regressive form of activism steeped in colonialism includes the “whitewashing” of activist movements. This happens when the main face of a cause continually ends up being a white person, even when people of color have long been involved in the work. For example, Greta Thunberg is a household name in the U.S., due to her climate activism and invitations to prestigious events like the United Nations Climate Action Summit. The work Thunberg does is great, but there is a reason some of her young counterparts of color have not gotten the same recognition. Have you heard of Mari Copeny, a young girl who has been raising awareness about the Flint water crisis since she was eight years old? What about Anna Lee Rain Yellowhammer who began protesting in 2016 against the Dakota Access Pipeline? Oftentimes the same colonial systems we are fighting have
Commmunity Organizing & Activism
so deeply influenced our minds that we still choose to recognize the white and privileged above activists of color who have been doing the work just as long, if not longer. On the flip side, colonial behaviors can lead allies in activism movements to tokenize their counterparts of color. BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) activists will often be chosen by white organizers to be given a platform or more visibility based on if they are palatable enough - whether that means already well-known and accepted, more accessible and easy to schedule, easier to understand for white people, or “less hostile.” This behavior is dehumanizing and exploitative. Allies within movements can and must decolonize their mentalities in order to ethically engage in movements of solidarity and system dismantlement. South Asian activist Harsha Walian, speaking of organizing and activism in alliance with Indigenous peoples, summarizes the obligation of allies who are committed to decolonization when she states, “Opposing the colonialism of the state and settler society, non-natives must recognize our own role in perpetuating colonialism within our solidarity efforts. We actively counter this by theorizing and discussing the nuanced issues of solidarity,
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leadership, strategy, and analysis not in abstraction but within our real and informed and sustained relationships with Indigenous peoples.”
Examples of Decolonization Although, like all other forms of social impact, community organizing and activism struggles to shake off legacies of colonialism, there are theories, people, and organizations who are actively working to decolonize activist movements. This section highlights two examples of intentional decolonized approaches. Veggie Mijas (https://www.veggiemijas. com) is “a women of color/trans folks of color/gender non-conforming collective for folks that are plant-based or are interested in a plant-based lifestyle that have marginalized identities and/or experiences with food insecurity/food apartheids.” The collective considers itself made up of “activistas de la tierra,” and works to utilize ancestral and Indigenous wisdom while providing plant-based food access through a variety of awareness-raising community and educational events. The organization boasts 11 chapters around the country, all organized by people of color.
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Martin Luther King, Jr.
Commmunity Organizing & Activism
The construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline threatened water sources and sacred Indigenous sites, leading to the organizing and mobilization of many Indigenous activists. The Indigenous International Youth Council (IIYC) (https://indigenousyouth. org/) was one of the activist groups that sprang to action in protest of the pipeline, and has continued to expand through the development of multiple chapters across Turtle Island. IIYC’s decolonized approach can be witnessed in its reliance on the energy and innovation of youth leadership, its commitment to protecting the environmental elements, and its utilization of Indigenous spiritual practices in addition to standard social justice training principles. The IIYC website includes a powerful quotation from Chief Arvol Looking Horse of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Nations: “ Know that you yourself are essential to this world. Understand both the blessing and the burden of that. You yourself are desperately needed to save the soul of this world. Did you think you were put here for something less? In a Sacred Hoop of Life, there is no beginning and no ending.”
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Conclusion Community organizing and activism are powerful tools for change through the collective, and rely on revolutionary allyship. Genuine and effective allies understand their roles to be supportive, and oftentimes in the background, in order to provide voice and space to community leaders with lived experience. This type of solidarity looks like not speaking on a community’s behalf, and making sure to credit historically underrepresented communities for their work. Individual and organizational activists continue to make strides in shifting and redistributing power through decolonial modes of functioning, by rejecting traditional practices of Western colonialism and embracing new sources of wisdom and leadership structures. Harsha Walia writes, “Striving toward decolonization and walking together toward transformation requires us to challenge a dehumanizing social organization that perpetuates our isolation from each other and normalizes a lack of responsibility to one another and the Earth.” The future of community organizing and activism remains bright as activists remember this, and work to create solidarity through mindful connection and genuine decolonial practice.
Edgar Villanueva
Decolonizing Philanthropy
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GABRIELLE DAVIS
P
hilanthropy, when broken down to its latin roots, means loving (phil-) mankind (anthorpo-). Philanthropy in the United States is defined as the contribution of private funds or resources to charitable causes. Using this definition, examples of philanthropy include: crowdfund campaigns, community relief funds, donating to charitable organizations, political campaign contributions, and much more. Though philanthropy as an established practice has only been defined for approximately 40 years, it has had an immense impact on the US. In fact, approximately 315 billion U.S. dollars are donated every year as an act of philanthropy, and almost every U.S. resident makes at least one philanthropic donation per year. The number of funds dispersed philanthropically throughout the U.S. comes from four main sources: individuals, donations enacted by the will and testament of
the deceased, corporate foundations, and philanthropic foundations. Philanthropic foundations are organizations in which philanthropist officials oversee the distribution of funds provided by a group or family of donors. One such philanthropist is Edgar Villanueva, an Indigenous scholar and author of Decolonizing Weath: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance, which has become a fundamental piece in the discussion of the intersections of social justice, decolonization, and philanthropy in the U.S. This essay will lean heavily on Villanueva’s scholarship. Philanthropy, like other aspects of American culture, has been greatly influenced by colonial frameworks. The United States of America was founded on settler colonialism, and as Villanueva writes, “The mantra of colonizers is divide, control, (and above all) exploit.” Colonization did not go away with the founding of the country, but instead
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Philanthropy
Philanthropy
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created the structures upon which it built the nation. American society has systematically benefitted the descendents of settler colonialists, utilizing wealth —among many other structures— to preserve systems of oppression.
Colonial Background Many foundations and individuals in possession of extreme amounts of wealth attained it due to “old money,” which is also known as generational wealth. Much of this wealth was accumulated by white family namesakes in early U.S. colonial history, the result of exploitative and violent practices such as the displacement of Indigenous communities and the owning of slave plantations. This was followed by decades of xenophobic and racially discriminatory policies that excluded BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals from social benefits that helped majority white communities build more wealth. An example of this is redlining policies that made it legal to discriminate against nonwhites when approving home loans while the country attempted to rebuild after the Great Depression. Today, white men hold the majority of the wealth in the U.S., and many people of color face huge disparities
when it comes to wealth. In 2016, the average net wealth of white families was almost 10x those of Black families. In a capitalistic society, the more money a donor or organization possesses, the more power they have to influence social change. It comes as no surprise that many philanthropists donate within their own interests, which has been defined as “venture philanthropy” — donating to maximize one’s own potential return. Similarly, many corporations use performative philanthropy as a way of marketing to potential customers
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by emphasizing the values and ethics of the company. Such motivations are often defined by white and wealthy individuals who leave those with real need behind. In 2014, only 7.4% of all U.S. philanthropy was given to support communities of color. Unfortunately, philanthropy done in the interest of personal gain helps to reinforce colonial systems.
Examples of Decolonization In Decolonizing Wealth, Edgar Villanueva writes, “We can create new ways of seeking and granting access to money. We can return balance to the world by moving money to where the hurt is worst.” Villanueva explains that Indigenous traditions in which accessible medicine is used to achieve balance can help us learn how to view money as a medicine, or a source of healing. Villanueva writes how money can ethically come into play while communities go through these seven steps of healing: grieve, apologize, listen, relate, represent, invest, and repair. In order to grieve the U.S. must sit with the pain and suffering that colonization caused. To apologize individuals must turn from the “inward focus of grief, outward to
Philanthropy
the others who were harmed.” This requires accountability and willingness to make change. Listening entails holding space for and giving power to those with lived experience from communities that have suffered. To relate is to build a healing relationship, and create safety for communities and individuals to bring their full selves without fear of repercussion or oppression. To represent is making sure decision-making spaces reflect communities through diverse and inclusive representation. Investing is straightforward: distributing funds directly into the act of healing and decolonization, or “putting all your money where your mouth is” in terms of repairing inequities among communities. Finally, to repair is to stop more hurt from happening. Villanueva’s steps are a vastly beneficial framework for beginning the process of decolonizing philanthropy, and he has implemented them in the Decolonizing Wealth Project (https://decolonizingwealth. com) organization and Liberated Capital investment firm he founded. The Decolonizing Wealth Project seeks to disrupt traditional modes of philanthropy within the system of American capitalism by intentionally directing unrestricted funding to
Edgar Villanueva
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Philanthropy
“Wealth translates to security and power in our society, two things which can and should be distributed more widely among individuals of all identities.”
BIPOC communities, and giving space for BIPOC individuals to be a main part of the conversation. They describe themselves as “[offering] truth, reconciliation, and healing from the ails of colonization through education, radical reparative giving, and narrative change.” Liberated Capital is a donor group focused on similar goals, where the autonomy of grantees who have traditionally been underrepresented and marginalized is extremely important. They explain that their models are “rooted in relationships of mutuality and equity…[using] a reparations model that trusts and supports the leadership of those most impacted by historical and systemic racism.” The decolonized nature of Villanueva’s work is summarized in a catchphrase found on the website: “Solidarity not Charity.” Another organization attempting to decolonize philanthropy is Resource Generation (https://resourcegeneration.org), a multicultural group organized by youth and young adults (ages 18-35) from families who fall in the top 10% of the wealthiest families in the U.S., and therefore experience extreme class privilege. They provide seminars, engagements, and resources on how the ultra-wealthy can redistribute their
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Conclusion money in ways to enact true systemic social change, increase social justice, and begin the healing process with the younger generation. One example of their work is the Land Reparations & Indigenous Solidarity Toolkit in which they provide educational history on colonization, case studies and examples of current best practices in decolonization, and philanthropic ideas on how to take action, including returning privatized land to Indigenous communities. Additionally, Resource Generation provides education on principles of Social Justice Philanthropy and Transformative Investing, which helps philanthropists hoping to decolonize their giving to see donation and investment as a way to implement the “equitable distribution of wealth, land, and power.”
While philanthropy is far from the only lever of change for creating social impact, its significance cannot be understated. Wealth translates to security and power in our society, two things which can and should be distributed more widely among individuals of all identities. Due to the persistence of colonial structures and mindsets, wealth disparities and investment priorities have often worked against already underrepresented communities. However, as we mindfully (re)examine our giving practices, and see money as a way to repair imbalances, we can decolonize philanthropy and take care of more people. As Edgar Villanueva lovingly writes about his profession,“This is Philanthropy. It is the family that embarrasses me and infuriates me. But it’s still my family, and I believe in redemption.”
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Decolonizing Travel TAYLOR MURPHY
T
he role of international travel and tourism in modern society cannot be understated. Between business trips, vacation, and volunteerism, many of us travel abroad with frequency. However, not all are so privileged as to enjoy access to international travel. Often trips abroad necessitate access to money, time, and even passports and visas. Because privilege is so prerequisite to many international travel experiences, trips and tourism often coincide with traveling in a colonial mindset. Such a mentality can prove difficult to reject, given that in order to do so, one must critically evaluate tourism and its historical and current relationship to imperialism. This type of critical analysis requires asking how the tourism industry affects local communities on the receiving end of tourists - especially when said communities are descendents of Indigenous peoples who lost land and culture due to the invasion of colonial powers. Travel is not inherently bad;
however, touring without mindfully considering the ramifications of a travel industry that exploits power imbalances is bad. Some examples of the negative effects of traveling without challenging colonial structures and mentalities include: • The exotification and “othering” of global cultures and communities. • The disregard of privacy and dignity through unethical documentation and social media practices while traveling. •C ultural insensitivity and ethnocentric interactions. •N eglect of land, water, and resource conservation. •T he destruction of local economic markets in favor of large corporate tourism
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It is important to recognize that colonization has ultimately shifted the privilege of access to international tourism to favor the descendants of old-world colonizers. Therefore, patterns of international travel, and who gets to participate in it, often reflect these power dynamics. Wealthy, white tourists visit countries with “poor,” non-white inhabitants, often exuding damaging attitudes and engaging in problematic behavior along the way. It is therefore in the interest of ethical social impact practitioners to encourage the decolonization of travel and tourism practices.
of who can afford to purchase and develop land. Think of the numerous Western-owned, luxury resorts built atop formerly communal, Indigenous territories. Or the development of corporatized seaports for giant cruise ships, disrupting local industries and flooding residential neighborhoods with a steady flow of ever-changing tourists. The industry forces locals to abandon traditional modes of income generation for the more lucrative appeal of selling services and souvenirs to tourists, while it wreaks havoc on the environment and creates further dependence on Western foreigners.
Colonial Background
The influence of colonization on modern travel does not end at land ownership, but extends to the access today’s tourists have to wealth. We must understand systems of discriminatory policy in order to acknowledge how systemic wealth disparity
Among the most significant legacies of colonization is the seizure and privatization of land, stripping Indigenous peoples of sovereignty over the physical environment and the resources it provides. It would be remiss to discuss the colonial influence of travel without pointing to the explicit ties the modern tourism industry has to the imbalance
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Travel
Travel
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has influenced who can afford to travel. For example, in the U.S. alone, redlining policies extending from the 1930s to the 1960s excluded racial and ethnic minorities from the housing loans that allowed many white Americans to become homeowners and build wealth directly after the devastation of the Great Depression. Although these policies are no longer in place, their consequences have largely shaped wealth disparities between Americans of color and their white counterparts to this day. On a global scale, colonization left countries with little infrastructure or governmental support after gaining independence, crippling their economies and putting them in debt to Western nations who gained continued power by offering international loans. Even now, formerly colonized countries’ own governments follow the colonizers’ lead by prioritizing the use of land for corporate interests, often finding themselves in conflict with Indigenous peoples that would rather protect the lands from foreign exploitation. This frequently results in violence towards and the displacement of these communities. In the present, one can clearly see how the generational effects of oppressive and discriminatory systems have prevented marginalized communities from wealth accrual, and ultimately from access to international travel and tourism. Putting it bluntly, international travel just is not as accessible to those who aren’t white and wealthy.
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Due to the demographic imbalance of who can afford to travel, ethnocentric and savioristic attitudes are common towards other countries and cultures, especially those of the Global South. Such attitudes have been coined as the “tourist’s gaze.” The tourist’s gaze reflects the apparent lack of relatability between a tourist and a native due to the tourist’s inaccurate, paternalistic, and condescending view of the local culture and inhabitants. This concept is informed by what Toni Morrison refers to as the “white gaze,” a gaze “informed by white supremacy.” This ultimately harms the dignity and stifles the growth of surrounding native communities by burning bridges of empathy, respect, and trust between travelers and locals.
Examples of Decolonization In a misguided attempt at “doing good” while travelling, many privileged tourists have engaged in “voluntourism,” the practice of going on trips abroad, usually facilitated by a travel company or nonprofit organization, where vacation is mixed with “service projects.” While altruism is better than apathy, and voluntourists act with good intentions, the impact of their actions
Travel
can be very damaging in the way that it furthers colonial modes of travel. Not only do majority white and wealthy travelers participate, but insidiously they become even less likely to examine their actions as they feel absolved of guilt due to their “service” to local communities. Oftentimes these service projects are patronizing, ineffective, and offer no long term support, while additionally failing to take into account actual community needs. Fortunately some organizations, tourism providers, and activists are helping tourists to lessen their tourist gaze, respecting local communities, and creating access to travel for historically marginalized communities. Nuru Tours (@nuru.tours) is a Blackowned travel company dedicated to creating tourism opportunities that connect Afican youth with other youth of the Black Diaspora. Their aim is to help decolonize travel in Africa by reclaiming the power of the Black narrative, and expanding who has access to tourism opportunities in Africa. As their Instagram explains, “[Nuru Tours] aims at connecting African youth globally, because the youth is one of Africa’s greatest resources that (currently) isn’t being mobilised and utilised correctly.”
Toni Morrison
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Travel
“When it comes to exploring the world through travel and tourism it is a moral responsibility to look out for each other through decolonized practice emphasizing compassion and care.”
Etnica Travel (https://www.etnicatravel. com) is a Guatemalan-owned social enterprise that curates trips where tourists can stay with and learn from locals. The company “[empowers] local actors to operate... immersive community-based travel experiences…[and] work under principles of fair trade, sustainability and co-creation valuing the cultural and natural heritage Guatemala has to offer.” Etnica Travel makes sure the tours they provide directly support local businesses and communities, and helps tourists to interact in dignified and ethical ways. Tourists stay at Guatemalan-owned lodging, eat at Guatemalan-owned restaurants, and enjoy tourism experiences straight from locals, without relying on a middle man. Etnica Travel also supports locally-run community organizations with a portion of their profits. Vayando Travel (@vayandotravel) is a tech startup piloting a platform that helps connect responsible tourists directly to local entrepreneurs. The resident innovators do what they normally do for a living, but as a unique cultural experience for foreign travelers. This earns them a fair wage and the chance to portray themselves authentically. The platform gives locals - who normally
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would not have the means to market to or connect with Westerners - a chance to seize more control over and benefit from tourism in their area.
Conclusion Ultimately, to further decolonize travel, sovereignty of travel destinations must return to native communities. By centering the role of Indigenous peoples and local inhabitants in the travel and tourism industry, we can start to prioritize modes of travel that directly benefit local economies, respect local autonomy and culture, and emphasize environmental sustainability. Additionally, we can view travel and tourism as opportunities for communal sharing, marked by a commitment to respect, dignity, and equity. Currently, travel is marketed and advertised as a white person’s expensive pastime. Instead, marketing around travel must transition to a message of access and possibility for a wide range of individuals desiring to see more of the world and learn from local communities in ways that do not violate or cause damage. Tourists themselves must stop romanticizing uncomfortable stories and proceed carefully to engage them.
The question we must ask ourselves as global citizens is “How might we ethically share in this world together?” We are all interconnected - from the resources we share to the experiences we crave. We must take accountability for settler tendencies while being open to possibilities outside of colonial ethics. When it comes to exploring the world through travel and tourism it is a moral responsibility to look out for each other through decolonized practice emphasizing compassion and care.
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Decolonizing Media MARIA STEPHENS
M
ass media plays an extremely prominent role in our society. A Nielsen company study found that “The average American spends a staggering 11 hours, 54 minutes each day connected to some form of media — TV, smartphones, radio, games.” Due to this continuous exposure, media can influence our thoughts, beliefs, and actions. We might be persuaded to consume a particular product, or support a political ideology. Media has the power to focus our attention, and helps us decide what issues we care about and what information we hear about said issues. Because of this, the media can either encourage radical change-making and improve society as it influences our perspectives and actions for the better, or divert attention away from issues and voices that need to be heard. Those who create media —journalists, podcast hosts, social media influencers, and movie directors to name a few— hold significant power in deciding what stories are
told, whose perspectives are examined, and which characters are protagonists. Media content creators are still majority white and male, and the lack of diversity and representation in media leads to a one-sided version of history and current events, as well as stereotyped and secondary portrayals of nonwhite communities and individuals. The lack of accurate representation is dehumanizing. As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said in her viral Ted Talk The Danger of a Single Story, “I’ve always felt that it is impossible to engage properly with a place or a person without engaging with all the stories of that place and that person. The consequence of the single story is this - it robs people of dignity. It makes recognition of our equal humanity difficult.” The current demographics of those with decision-making power in the media industry are a result of colonial power structures that have made narrative shifting less accessible to people from underrepresented communities.
Media
Colonial Background Prior to 16th century colonization, many Indigenous communities passed down important cultural knowledge orally, in the form of traditional storytelling. Tribal elders shaped and transmitted culture through the generations, providing cohesion and stability as communities remained bonded through their shared narratives. These practices were systematically wiped out through the violence of colonization, with the displacement and genocide of tribal communities, followed by the coercion of survivors into learning the colonizer language, cultural practices, and forms of communication. Similarly, Black slaves were separated from family upon arrival in the United States, denied personal freedoms, and forced to lose the cultural heritage of traditionally Afican modes of communication and storytelling. The Westernized ubiquitousness of written and spoken English now dominating
“The lack of diversity and representation in media leads to a one-sided version of history and current events, as well as stereotyped and secondary portrayals of nonwhite communities and individuals.”
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Media
Media
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mainstream media is a direct result of the erasure of Indigenous forms of communication, entertainment, and knowledge sharing. Not only have colonial mindsets and practices served to disconnect the survivors of colonization from their original heritages and cultural narratives, they have also made sure to control how recent historical events are revisited and through which lens they are seen. We see this in the way that Hollywood consistently greenlights movies now popularly referred to as “White Savior’’ films. Such movies tell Civil Rights era stories utilizing benevolent and courageous white protagonists, and often show Black Americans as mere side characters and beneficiaries, although historically most white Americans disapproved of civil rights activism, and Black Americans successfully led out in their own liberation movements. Even outside of entertainment media, news stations and journalistic articles show bias in their story framing. In one example familiar to many Americans, there is a trend for men of color implicated in violent crimes to be portrayed as inherently criminal, brutish, and adult. On the other hand, white men accused of similarly violent crimes are often reported on with more empathetic framing, as mentally ill, suffering, and misunderstood.
Suffice it to say, colonization took many things from Indigenous, Black, and other communities of color. Even after the explicit and violent versions of past colonization ended, American society found ways to perpetuate the colonialism of media by continuing to tell inaccurate stories about underrepresented communities and one sided stories about history. As Nigerian author Chinua Achebe said, “Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”
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Examples of Decolonization When stories are told from one perspective, the experience of underrepresented individuals and communities remains colonized. Whether intentional or not, the impact is that people are left disempowered and misunderstood, and communities grow weaker as their narratives are diluted. Everyone should have the power and resources to tell their own story. This concept is referred to as rhetorical sovereignty, where communities communicate on their own terms and in their own way. Fortunately there are existing efforts to expand rhetorical sovereignty and decolonize the media. One such effort is the Decolonize Media Collective, a student organization out of Hampshire College that has served as a media platform for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students. Student editors from the group published a report called “Decolonize Media: Tactics, Manifestos, Histories” in which they propose “open-access publishing, open-source software, a return to independent filmmaking, and more strategic and informal uses of social media.” This approach not only gives voice to those who have been historically
Media
stripped of voice in the media, but also acknowledges the fact that colonial structures have produced media that is incredibly selective about what stories and knowledge are valorized and which ones are accessible. This creates a society in which knowledge and communications reside within a colonial and hierarchical arrangement. These structures ensure that the communal knowledge of marginalized communities becomes ranked inferior in the process. By encouraging engagement with multiple stories and making them accessible, groups like the Decolonize Media Collective operate through a decolonial mindset. Another approach includes the use of independent media stations, which are surging in popularity especially due to the rapid adoption of podcasts and podcast streaming platforms. Independent creators can utilize these tools to reclaim power over their narratives and the distribution of information, without having to seek sponsorship from large corporations or media companies. A couple examples include: The Real News Network (https://therealnews.com), which seeks to platform voices that speak out against colonial forms of thinking and behaving. This network’s
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website states it is “dedicated to telling the stories that matter to movements fighting back against capitalism, white supremacy, and imperialism” and hosts shows such as the Decolonized News Hour, “featuring the latest stories from Indian Country, in all its underappreciated diversity, and investigations of current issues from a Native perspective.” Decolonized News Hour is co-hosted by Indigenous podcasters Jen Deerinwater (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), Johnnie Jae (Otoe-Missouria and Choctaw), and Desiree Kane (Miwok). Parenting Decolonized (@prntgdcolonized) is a podcast hosted by Yolanda Williams, a Black parent who is passionate about rejecting white colonialism and incorporating traditionally Black models of family structure and parenting. She hosts guests to discuss “how to decolonize your parenting by resisting old narratives, how to use conscious parenting as activism against white supremacy, [and how to reclaim] ancestral ways of parenting.” Yolanda’s independent platform is a great example of how to decolonize the messaging around a particular issue —in her case Black parenting— that has often been depicted in largely negative lights through the mainstream media.
Media
Conclusion It is crucial to examine the past and present, and hold society accountable. Media stakeholders such as online publications, news stations, film companies, streaming services, and social media platforms have immense power to displace and erase culture and identity, or embrace the full spectrum of stories and perspectives humans have to offer. Our media will not be fully decolonized until we have incorporated voices and viewpoints of those who have traditionally been marginalized and silenced. The African Leadership University in Mauritius provides a blueprint through a list of media practice suggestions, which includes the implementation of listening to the historically underrepresented, using open-source materials, collaborating with communities, and aspiring to the motto “ethics above all.” If we truly care about creating a more ethical society, we must work to decolonize the systems and structures that control the stories permitted to be broadcast.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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