Anarcha-Indigenism : Toward a Decolonial Nonhierarchical Future
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| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | This paper proposes anarcha-Indigenism—an intersection between Indigeneity, anarchism, environmentalism, Indigenous feminism and other liberation movements—as a promising framework that could initiate transcultural cooperation of diverse justice groups. Anarcha-Indigenism addresses mutual dependencies that exist between the state, capitalism, colonialism, ecological destruction, white supremacy and patriarchy. Anarcha-Indigenism is rooted in the Indigenous concept of interconnectedness of all things in the world and respect for the natural environment. Hence, it is also opposing ecological destruction and demands environmental justice, and, as I suggest, encourages reassessment of the (Western) society's treatment of other-than-human animals. It is grounded in an intersectional analysis and combines critical ideas of post-colonial and post-imperial non-hieararchical futures. The article introduces anarcha-Indigenism and its primary principles and roots, discusses its potential, and foregrounds and analyses some major challenges that anarcha-Indigenism faces. Despite their common goal—eradicating oppression—activist movements' varying priorities, stemming from differing values, often cause misunderstandings and result in disagreements that can lead to estrangement and cutting off ties, hence ultimately weakening the larger anarcha-Indigenist movement. Liberation movements often perpetuate hierarchies they strive to eradicate, be it hierarchy of gender, religion, class, or race. The paper outlines the nature of some of these challenges and by identifying possible roots of discrepancies among various movements, it suggests how these differences could be overcome. While not offering any final resolutions to these challenges, the article outlines and discusses some potential ways forward and concludes that decolonization has to be at the core of all anarcha-Indigenist efforts if it wants to provoke change across difference. |
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