Indigenous cultural values counter the damages of white settler colonialism

ABSTRACT

Settler colonialism is a violent process that harms all beings. We build upon environmental justice frameworks and argue for Indigenous values affirmation as a strategy for countering the violence of settler colonialism. We discuss the findings of a pilot project to create an Indigenous values affirmation tool with Indigenous peoples in the U.S. to provide context for our argument. We draw from Indigenous-centered literature, including Bacon’s colonial ecological violence, and assert that settler systems, and analyses rooted in settler logics, are inadequate because of their inherent inability to meaningfully and critically engage with colonization. This ignorance causes academic fields of study to be damaged-centred in their gaze on Indigenous peoples, or to ignore or render Indigenous peoples invisible or disappeared. Equity is not imaginable, and justice is impossible, within these frameworks. Centring Indigenous people and values have great potential to contribute to environmental sociology. We urge environmental sociologists to honour Indigenous ways of knowing and being in efforts to counter settler colonial violence that plagues all peoples. Doing so will open up new possibilities for healing the environment, and humans’ relations with Mother Earth and all beings.

KEYWORDS:

• Indigenous peoples
• settler colonialism
• colonial ecological violence
• damage
• healing
• values affirmation

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the anonymous reviewers and editors for helpful feedback. We have tremendous gratitude for our values affirmation project participants who shared their stories in focus groups.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Oregon and Oregon Health Sciences University Collaborative Seed Grant program.

Notes on contributors

Michelle M. Jacob

Michelle M. Jacob (Yakama Nation) earned her PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She currently is Professor of Indigenous Studies and Director of the Sapsik’ʷałá (Teacher) Education Program in the Department of Education Studies at the University of Oregon’s College of Education. Michelle’s research examines the ways in which Indigenous cultural revitalization efforts transform Indigenous communities and Western institutions. Her latest books are The Auntie Way and Huckleberries and Coyotes both of which are featured on Michelle’s website https://anahuymentoring.com

Kelly L. Gonzales, MPH, PhD, enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, is an associate professor of Oregon Health Sciences University Portland State University joint School of Public Health. Her research is building a body of science to identify and understand racism as a primary determinant of health among AI/ANs. She completed a two-year post-doctoral research training program at the University of Colorado Denver Native Elders Research Center, administered by the Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health. She has served as board member elect and co-chair for the Native Research Network, Inc. All of her work is guided by strong, active partnerships with AI/AN communities and organizations.

Deanna Chappell Belcher is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Education Studies’ Critical and Sociocultural Studies in Education doctoral program at the University of Oregon. Deanna is an educator, a parent, and a passionate advocate for education justice. She is currently engaged in dissertation research with teacher activists, and Deanna utilizes Indigenous feminisms in her work.

Jennifer L. Ruef earned her PhD at Stanford University and her BS and MS at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, all in mathematics and education. She is now an assistant professor at the University of Oregon. Her research interests include the intersections of mathematics and learning, social justice and equity, identity and power. She studies how people understand what it means to be ‘good at math’ and believes we are all math people.

Dr. Stephany RunningHawk Johnson, a member of the Oglala Lakota nation, focuses her research on recruiting, retaining and supporting Indigenous students attending universities and majoring in science fields, with a particular emphasis on how the philosophy behind the way science courses are taught creates barriers for Indigenous students, as well as other students of color. Stephany is interested in working with local Tribes to incorporate place-based education and Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledges in order to increase Indigenous students’ sense of identity and belonging in a university setting. She is also conducting research on how non-Indigenous instructors can begin to decolonize their curriculum and teaching practices. All of Stephany’s work is done through an Indigenous Feminist lens and is dedicated to supporting Nation building, Tribal sovereignty, and empowering Indigenous communities and students in working toward social justice.