I love how you highlight how the feeling that individuals with settler ancestry have feels off in the soul-how we know inside that this is not the land that our souls crave union with. It's not like settler colonies are formed and that doesn't come at a cost for those who come after, or like we all just have settler amnesia and are just living happy jolly lives in deep connection to the land we presently live. I think that's a really important thing to note, that settler colonies never lead to fulfilling relationships with land and place. We're just doing our best to make it work and loving the land we call home, while still feeling kind of lost and disconnected to it. It's a very confusing experience I'm grateful you brought voice to.
An excellent, though provoking article for sure! I grew up on the other side of the border from Montana in deeply religious Alberta, and the fervour of white settler colonialism (and its bastard, the oil industry) were always tied to “salvation” in a myriad of ways. Just as you mentioned that colonization is not a one time event but an ongoing structure, I see “colonizer not as a static identity but rather an action we participate in. As a white settler I can’t change the actions of my ancestors, but I can participate in the act of creation by divesting from the material culture of domination, isolation and violence that colonialism thrives on. I try to ground this work in my own spiritual practice, and do the work of healing for myself, and also for my ancestors.
It definitely is. I think the main reason I’ve stayed connected to spiritual practice is bc it doesn’t let me bypass that pain, it helps me to hold onto it and work with it, so it doesn’t become a weapon.
Thank you for this critical perspective!!!
I love how you highlight how the feeling that individuals with settler ancestry have feels off in the soul-how we know inside that this is not the land that our souls crave union with. It's not like settler colonies are formed and that doesn't come at a cost for those who come after, or like we all just have settler amnesia and are just living happy jolly lives in deep connection to the land we presently live. I think that's a really important thing to note, that settler colonies never lead to fulfilling relationships with land and place. We're just doing our best to make it work and loving the land we call home, while still feeling kind of lost and disconnected to it. It's a very confusing experience I'm grateful you brought voice to.
thank you for this. this the type of analysis that would have kept me in catholic media.
Thank you! Thanks for your writing as well.
An excellent, though provoking article for sure! I grew up on the other side of the border from Montana in deeply religious Alberta, and the fervour of white settler colonialism (and its bastard, the oil industry) were always tied to “salvation” in a myriad of ways. Just as you mentioned that colonization is not a one time event but an ongoing structure, I see “colonizer not as a static identity but rather an action we participate in. As a white settler I can’t change the actions of my ancestors, but I can participate in the act of creation by divesting from the material culture of domination, isolation and violence that colonialism thrives on. I try to ground this work in my own spiritual practice, and do the work of healing for myself, and also for my ancestors.
Yeah, people need to be able to heal and come to terms with this reality without shame and guilt. It's tough.
It definitely is. I think the main reason I’ve stayed connected to spiritual practice is bc it doesn’t let me bypass that pain, it helps me to hold onto it and work with it, so it doesn’t become a weapon.
As an Albertan myself, I can 100% corroborate these feelings