From Colonization to Decolonization
When a message is followed by the word tâpwé, it is a really important message. Decolonization is the focus of this website, and the materials are selected to help you understand that you are an Earth person. Understanding this is really important because our role as human beings is to become once again a participant in the thrumming dance of life with all “our relatives.” This process of relearning involves a deep dive into unfamiliar material written by authors who are leading the way for a return to our ancestral wisdom. It requires a paradigm shift. It is an invitation to see yourself in the world differently and the world will be transformed because we humans are back in harmony with our true nature as one of many.
Colonization was not a one time event that happened to Indigenous People only but it was a gradual process of shifting perspectives that emerged into a cultural worldview of hierarchical privilege where some human beings were dominant over other human beings and other life forms. Most critically, human beings separated themselves from the Earth that was no longer perceived as a living animate being. Immersed in this separation story, human beings for the past 12,000 years or so have created [1]an ecological divide—a severance of self to nature; a social divide of self to others; and, finally, a spiritual divide of self to self.
Ecological Divide: This disconnect of self to nature has created an escalating ecological crisis. [1]In the last 200 years the United States has lost 50% of its wetlands, 90% of its northwestern old-growth forests and 99% of its tallgrass prairies. Since 1970 there has been a 68% decline in animal population. 95% of the Earth’s land will be degraded by 2050 and there will be more plastic (by weight) in the ocean than fish by 2050. We are in the red zone for chemical pollution, climate crisis, and biodiversity loss. We are rapidly heading for a precipice of self-destruction.
Galileo (1564-1642), Descartes (1596-1650), and Newton (1642-1727) heavily influenced this destructive worldview of dominance and separation from nature. They provided a theoretical foundation that justified a separation from and a dominance over nature and “non-humans.” Well known Scottish psychologist, R.D. Laing concludes, [3]“We had to destroy the world in theory before we could destroy it in practice.” In essence, this story of separation of self to nature has shaped the Western worldview here in North America and the entire planet. Social Divide: Humans as separate from each other fueled the colonization of Indigenous People in the Western Hemisphere by the Europeans who viewed themselves as God’s chosen people meant to civilize the “savages” in the “New World.” This was their destiny, and justified the genocide of one hundred million Indigenous People in the western hemisphere. The Indigenous Peoples suffered loss of culture, loss of place, and loss of family. They were deprogrammed in Boarding schools from their original earth-centered beliefs in the animacy of nature and reprogrammed to the ideology of separation from nature and forced to adopt the worldview of the oppressors and to speak their language that embodied the worldview of separation and dominance.
Spiritual Divide: The separation of self from self(reflects how human beings in this contemporary global culture are separated from their very nature, from their purpose. In essence, they have forgotten the essential unity of all things; no longer seeing themselves as inseparable from the whole and no longer having a profound sense of knowing that all things are interrelated, connected, and alive—all things are unique manifestations of the same ultimate reality.
In the last 300,000 years humans saw themselves as woven into the very fabric of human existence with a deep sense of identity with nature consistent with the perennial philosophy of spiritual traditions found in Buddhism, Hinduism, Transcendental writings, Christian mystical teachings, and Indigenous Peoples’ Cultural beliefs and values. Whereas, contemporary society has bound the human spirit with its emphasis on fear of the unknown and/or guilt from the past. Spiritual healing from the past is a call for a rebirth and rediscovery of the natural, original human story. A story of ecological, social, and spiritual healing and well-being.
DECOLONIZATION: Creating a New Story
Decolonization is a healing journey, and it requires the courage to create (and recreate) an ethno-sphere to replace the colonial ego-sphere of dominance and control. It brings to life a shared interconnected web of relationships. It requires 1) coming with gratitude and being present to the wonder of being alive in this amazing world, 2) honoring our pain by dedicating time to ensure space for grief, outrage, and sorrow, 3) seeing with new eyes that reveal what is possible with a new understanding of each person’s power to make a difference, 4) and going forth to heal the world by identifying practical steps to re-birth this vision of what it means to be fully human within the web of interrelationships.
[1] Jeremy Lent, Slide Presentation on Web of Meaning