Decolonization is Not a Metaphor

An attempt to interact with the scholarly work of Eve Tuck and Wayne K. Yang

Thesis

In Decolonization is Not a Metaphor, Tuck and Yang declare and analyze different settler moves to innocence in an attempt to describe the ways that the term ‘decolonization’ has been appropriated to further distract from actual decolonization. They outline how this act of appropriation serves a massive disservice to native populations by continually servicing the settler claims to innocence.

Summary

Tuck and Yang begin by setting a groundwork for understanding the ways that settler colonialism took over the land and lives of native populations. By noting six different ways that settlers move to innocence, they are highlighting the ways these tools are used as a way to distract from actually participating in decolonization. Each move to innocence refers to different methods that have been deployed throughout history and similar messages that continue to be deployed in popular culture that remove responsibility and guilt from the settler. Tuck and Yang conclude with the idea that solidarity is not enough when thinking about decolonization, but rather how solidarity efforts must move towards an understanding of the idea of incommensurability.

Method & Methodology

Tuck and Yang use the settler moves to innocence to set up a demonstration that introduces the idea that decolonization should be understood through incommensurability. This then in turn calls for the realization that settlers must forego all thought that they are in some way able to make up for the harm that was done to the native populations. This work is done by pulling from historical and cultural references to describe how settler innocence has been woven into the narrative of those residing in the United States.

Analysis

As surfaced in the work of Miranda in “Extermination of the Joyas”, the settlers forced onto the native populations their culture and exterminated their history. Miranda describes the difficulty in even locating pieces of historical evidence of her native ancestry before the history of the native populations was altered by the settlers. This reoccurring theme of forced reconstruction of native narratives because of settler ideologies continues to this day. Tuck and Yang describe how decolonization has been appropriated by settlers to further their claims to innocence. Settlers have essentially taken a word that was developed strictly to describe a situation in which they robbed native people and have yet again taken the term and used it to suppress their guilt. In a way, this is another move to further colonize and oppress native communities.