Without dismantling the structures of dispossession and implementing victim-led reform, settler-colonial states can never achieve genuine decolonization.
my problem with reparations (as an Indigenous person) is: 1, it upholds the settler state 2, it upholds capitalism and encourages us to participate in it more (thats all money does). .3, it’s just paid by the state and so no settlers learn a lesson. Settlers steal land, settlers own businesses and work in extraction, prisons and children’s aid, settlers cause MMIW.
Reparations doesn’t return the land or end the state.
Yes, I allude to the state issue in the article itself. As for (2), while I know that there are many Indigenous anarchists, how would you describe those who continue to seek monetary reparations and push to be represented (often performatively/as figureheads) within the settler system? I do fully agree with (3), and it’s partially represented in my brief discussion of settlers viewing reparations negatively; settler education systems like to teach that colonization is a “thing of the past” (hence my annotation about the use of de/postcolonial as misleading terms), so a great many settlers then erroneously see reparations as unfair.
You nailed it performative figure heads. The most annoying things is that non-indigenous people listen to indigenous politicians, as if there’s somehow different than your politicians. And that sentance can be applied to all kinds of other evil jobs of the above, like indigenous lawyers. It’ll make your head spin. Imagine if people said to Black radicals well Barack Obama said blah blah blah so what do you think about that?”
My ancestors may have bled on this land and been forced to work on it, but being gifted stolen land and resources by the settlers would just make us complicit.
We are better off never getting comfortable within such an evil system and society.
I’m glad you said so. I commented here because this post is taking place in so-called klanada where the convo is about reparations to Indigenous folks - but yeah in the so called usa that is problematic. Like come decolonize with us - ask us about a spiritual compensation in the form of land for what our shared oppressors did. In the physical world - land back has Black folks involved all the time, plus there is lotsa Afro-Indigenous folks. (Rant moment coming) These other convos been happening….just not on the internet in the same degree. On the internet everyone is like “where do I meet Indigenous folks”. Land back - there you’ll meet those politically aligned. In the big cities we are in every Palestinian protest group (if protest is your thing) - not so in small cities always - some. In real life I have like 2 white friends, the rest are my own people and natural allies aka Brown & Black folks. I know way more Black and Brown folks as friends because I spent my life organizing and mobilizing and everyone is always at land back spaces. My best friend is Egyptian, my sister in defence is Trini, they were both at land back works too. Thats why we’re inseparable. If someone only has white friends they either live in a small town (and up here that should mean theres Indigenous folks so no excuse) or aren’t doing anything radical enough.
my problem with reparations (as an Indigenous person) is: 1, it upholds the settler state 2, it upholds capitalism and encourages us to participate in it more (thats all money does). .3, it’s just paid by the state and so no settlers learn a lesson. Settlers steal land, settlers own businesses and work in extraction, prisons and children’s aid, settlers cause MMIW.
Reparations doesn’t return the land or end the state.
Yes, I allude to the state issue in the article itself. As for (2), while I know that there are many Indigenous anarchists, how would you describe those who continue to seek monetary reparations and push to be represented (often performatively/as figureheads) within the settler system? I do fully agree with (3), and it’s partially represented in my brief discussion of settlers viewing reparations negatively; settler education systems like to teach that colonization is a “thing of the past” (hence my annotation about the use of de/postcolonial as misleading terms), so a great many settlers then erroneously see reparations as unfair.
You nailed it performative figure heads. The most annoying things is that non-indigenous people listen to indigenous politicians, as if there’s somehow different than your politicians. And that sentance can be applied to all kinds of other evil jobs of the above, like indigenous lawyers. It’ll make your head spin. Imagine if people said to Black radicals well Barack Obama said blah blah blah so what do you think about that?”
I agree completely.
My ancestors may have bled on this land and been forced to work on it, but being gifted stolen land and resources by the settlers would just make us complicit.
We are better off never getting comfortable within such an evil system and society.
I’m glad you said so. I commented here because this post is taking place in so-called klanada where the convo is about reparations to Indigenous folks - but yeah in the so called usa that is problematic. Like come decolonize with us - ask us about a spiritual compensation in the form of land for what our shared oppressors did. In the physical world - land back has Black folks involved all the time, plus there is lotsa Afro-Indigenous folks. (Rant moment coming) These other convos been happening….just not on the internet in the same degree. On the internet everyone is like “where do I meet Indigenous folks”. Land back - there you’ll meet those politically aligned. In the big cities we are in every Palestinian protest group (if protest is your thing) - not so in small cities always - some. In real life I have like 2 white friends, the rest are my own people and natural allies aka Brown & Black folks. I know way more Black and Brown folks as friends because I spent my life organizing and mobilizing and everyone is always at land back spaces. My best friend is Egyptian, my sister in defence is Trini, they were both at land back works too. Thats why we’re inseparable. If someone only has white friends they either live in a small town (and up here that should mean theres Indigenous folks so no excuse) or aren’t doing anything radical enough.