Indigenous decolonization
Encyclopedia
Indigenous Decolonization is a process that Indigenous people whose communities were grossly affected by colonial
expansion, genocide
and cultural assimilation
may go through in understanding the history of their colonization and rediscovering their ancestral traditions and cultural values. A contemporary concept in Indigenous health and healing studies, decolonization (Indigenous) is that of a healing journey that may involve grief, anger, rage, growth and empowerment. It is related to post-traumatic stress syndrome and shares counseling tools that may help with movement on the journey, such as art therapy
. There is also an intergenerational component as trauma may have been accumulating in Indigenous families over the decades or centuries of intense struggle against assimilation or extinction.
An example of a tool for personal decolonization is the medicine wheel
healing concept derived from a Pan-Indian religious symbol, used in more ancient times by nations of the North American Plains. This concept helps people whose will has been damaged by colonization to balance the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of their self. By creating balance in all these areas of the self a person can find movement on the journey of decolonization and healing from intergenerational trauma. This tool links to the sacred medicine wheel circles created by the aboriginal inhabitants of Western North America
.
Indigenous Decolonization however is not merely psychological accommodation to occupation or colonialism
. It may also incorporate a realization or consciousness that bondage still exists today. Although a nation-states' political independence from a European state may have played itself out on a limited "battle field," so-to-speak, true independence from foreign occupation has not yet occurred. Prime examples of this are Canada, The United States, Australia, New Zealand, and all of Latin America. Here direct control by British and Iberian
nations respectively have ceased, yet the Anglo and Iberian descendants' political, social, moral, economic, and even racialistic taxonomy still exist and dominates over the true indigenous populations. Indigenous Decolonization in real time physical terms would also mean either an expulsion or exodus of the continuing forces that occupy the indigenous territory or a complete and total elimination of the bondage that exists.
Thus indigenous decolonization must incorporate physical, psychological, and emotional and spiritual
strategies since the body, the mind and the soul are affected directly by colonialism
. True decolonization can be achieved only when all of these components have been addressed or met in some way.
The 2009 Constitution of Bolivia
establishes that the country is, "founded in decolonization, without discrimination or exploitation..."
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
expansion, genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
and cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
may go through in understanding the history of their colonization and rediscovering their ancestral traditions and cultural values. A contemporary concept in Indigenous health and healing studies, decolonization (Indigenous) is that of a healing journey that may involve grief, anger, rage, growth and empowerment. It is related to post-traumatic stress syndrome and shares counseling tools that may help with movement on the journey, such as art therapy
Art therapy
Because of its dual origins in art and psychotherapy, art therapy definitions vary. They commonly either lean more toward the ART art-making process as therapeutic in and of itself, "art as therapy," or focus on the psychotherapeutic transference process between the therapist and the client who...
. There is also an intergenerational component as trauma may have been accumulating in Indigenous families over the decades or centuries of intense struggle against assimilation or extinction.
An example of a tool for personal decolonization is the medicine wheel
Medicine wheel
Medicine wheels, or sacred hoops, were constructed by laying stones in a particular pattern on the ground. Most medicine wheels follow the basic pattern of having a center of stone, and surrounding that is an outer ring of stones with "spokes", or lines of rocks radiating from the center...
healing concept derived from a Pan-Indian religious symbol, used in more ancient times by nations of the North American Plains. This concept helps people whose will has been damaged by colonization to balance the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of their self. By creating balance in all these areas of the self a person can find movement on the journey of decolonization and healing from intergenerational trauma. This tool links to the sacred medicine wheel circles created by the aboriginal inhabitants of Western North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Indigenous Decolonization however is not merely psychological accommodation to occupation or colonialism
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
. It may also incorporate a realization or consciousness that bondage still exists today. Although a nation-states' political independence from a European state may have played itself out on a limited "battle field," so-to-speak, true independence from foreign occupation has not yet occurred. Prime examples of this are Canada, The United States, Australia, New Zealand, and all of Latin America. Here direct control by British and Iberian
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
nations respectively have ceased, yet the Anglo and Iberian descendants' political, social, moral, economic, and even racialistic taxonomy still exist and dominates over the true indigenous populations. Indigenous Decolonization in real time physical terms would also mean either an expulsion or exodus of the continuing forces that occupy the indigenous territory or a complete and total elimination of the bondage that exists.
Thus indigenous decolonization must incorporate physical, psychological, and emotional and spiritual
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
strategies since the body, the mind and the soul are affected directly by colonialism
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
. True decolonization can be achieved only when all of these components have been addressed or met in some way.
The 2009 Constitution of Bolivia
Constitution of Bolivia
The current Constitution of Bolivia is the 17th constitution in the country's history; previous constitutions were enacted in 1826, 1831, 1834, 1839, 1843, 1851, 1861, 1868, 1871, 1878, 1880, 1938, 1945, 1947, 1961 and 1967. It came into effect on February 7, 2009, when it was promulgated by...
establishes that the country is, "founded in decolonization, without discrimination or exploitation..."