What is Decolonization?
Decolonization means a lot of different things, and we can learn to look at it from many different angles. From upper government policy to learning how marginalized people have been treated throughout history. Throughout today’s writing, I will be speaking about what decolonization means to me, what I have witnessed, how traditional knowledge shows up in my work, and how it is incorporated into all that I do.
Decolonization
Decolonization – means taking away the colonial – As Len Peirre speaks so beautifully in his 2020 Ted Talk, Decolonizing Substance Use and Addiction, decolonization means “the deconstruction, dismantling, and disrupt the cultural barriers that separate, suppress and oppress us”. As a biracial person, I have the ability to walk in two worlds, and decolonization has been an extremely intimate and personal process of waking up to the ways internalized oppression has impacted my life directly and doing the ongoing work of sitting in the discomfort, extracting, examining, learning and unlearning.
According to Indigenous psychologist Eduardo Duran, the word psychotherapist directly translates to soul healer, and “soul healers” embody healing energy in their life and in all that they do. They have faced their own wounded soul and therefore can attend to others. It is because I have spent time with the dark parts of my soul, and have accepted them as a part of my life that I am able to help others do the same.
“Injury Where the Blood Doesnt Flow”
Another concept identified by Duran is that Trauma is not perceived the same way across cultures, and “Injury where the flood doesn’t flow” provides a root metaphor for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD was first developed to describe the experiences of soldiers returning home from war, often with no physical injuries (Herman, 2015). Conceptualizing trauma in diverse ways can lead to more personalized, holistic, and inclusive forms of healing. Other terms for trauma suggested by Duran included: soul-wounding, spirit injury, and heart sickness.
I have witnessed the impacts of colonization amongst fellow indigenous people. The fear, anger, and ongoing trauma. I have seen this show up as the instinct to protect parts of self that were once stolen, such as ceremony, land, children, language, etc. I have seen it show up in the actions that keep the pain at bay for a short while. I’ve seen it show up in the social divide and in perpetuating a system that has been damaging to all of us. I continue to watch the people I grew up with pass too early to complications from soul wounding. And with every heartbreak, I can only keep a small glimmer of hope alive as I see people coming together in solace.
A Healing Way Forward
In the Queens University article, What is Decolonization? What is Indigenization? Decolonization might be defined as the extraction of colonialism, and indigenization is defined as reclamation or adding traditional indigenous elements. However, I often use decolonization and indigenization interchangeably.
While much of the history, of Indigenous people in Canada, has been erased over time; pieces of the Indigenous worldview can show up in unexpected places. It can show up in ceremony or in a conversation where you feel a sense of recognition or connection. It can show up when you are out for a walk, or sitting beside a body of water. It can show up in art and in creativity. It is a deeply personal process. I feel the need to say that this wisdom is not limited to indigenous people, but that all people have access to this collective wisdom.
It is my sentiment that love and unity are the healing roads forward. The coming together of all people is what will heal us because we need each other, to learn from each other. When we stop and listen, we will hear the similarities in our stories, our ceremonies, and our traditions. Approaching each other with compassion and curiosity, instead of judgment, enables us to celebrate our differences.
When I am talking about decolonization in my work and in my life, I am speaking about a set of principles and values – it is not something that you do, it is a way of being. A way of life that is embedded in relationality and is built on love, respect, and connection. The type of love is not romantic love or familial love. It is universal love, Agape, or unconditional love. This type of love acknowledges that we all deserve love and respect, not for what we do (or don’t do), or who we are, but simply because we are in existence, that all things in existence are deserving of love and respect.
Decolonization is understanding hierarchy is a Eurocentric social construct that we collectively continue to uphold. It is recognizing my place within this structure, and doing the work to give the power back to people with less power.
It is showing up in the world with a sense of humility and knowing that I am not better than anyone. That everyone is born into this world the same way and we will all leave the world in the same way.
It is the deep knowing of the interconnectedness of all things and recognizing the impacts we as individuals have on each other and the planet. That a small act of kindness will ripple out farther than we will know.
Love, compassion, acceptance, kindness, and humility are the values that guide my work. These values and teachings have been passed onto me by both my indigenous and non-indigenous parents, my clients, and my mentors (both the ones I’ve met in real-time, and the ones who I continue to study their words through research).
I hope that you find comfort and recognition in these words, know that decolonization is for everyone; and that my doors continue to be open for all.
With love always
Chantelle
References:
Duran, E. (2019 ). Healing the Soul Wound - Trauma Informed Counselling for Indigenous Communities. Teachers College, Columbia University
Herman, J. (2015). Trauma and Recovery. 2015 edition. New York BasicBooks.
Pierre, L. (2020). Decolonizing Substance Use and Addiction. TedxSFU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j95ayhyadNE
Queens University Centre for Teaching and Learning (2023). What is Decolonization? What is Indigenization? https://www.queensu.ca/ctl/resources/decolonizing-and-indigenizing/what-decolonization-what-indigenization
