Inay Gupta Week 2 Response

Decolonization is Not a Metaphor by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Kang is about how decolonization is taught and thought of. The author begins by talking about the education system and how decolonization is taught incorrectly in school. People confuse it with social justice projects, disregarding the fact that it is totally different from those practices and a different type of justice. This confusion has led to the general disregard for Indigenous populations, with settlers attempting to escape the harsh reality of their actions and portraying themselves as heroes. One personal thought I had while reading Decolonization is Not a Metaphor was how the settlers tried to make everything about them, making themselves look better. This was exemplified with the Indian-Grandmother situation, where everyone wanted to claim an Indian grandmother, as it showed nobility and culture, as if the grandmother was a princess who ran away with a pioneer. But nobody wanted to claim a male ancestor, as it reflected the aura of a warrior, which wouldn’t look good on the family tree, reflecting that of an animal. When Place Becomes Race by Sherene H. Razack shows the perceived connection between European colonizers and land. This article talks about how European actions were framed as innocent, as they tried to overshadow the harm they did to Indigenous populations and instead frame themselves as the good guys. Their practices were not only about land acquisition, but also about shaping the social and racial order, making the settlers the “legitimate” owners of the land while making it seem like Indigenous people were the ones who needed help. Both of these articles complemented each other, focusing on how the actions of Europeans toward Indigenous populations were minimized or depicted as harmless. Together, it makes you think about the deeper effects of colonialism to this day and what true decolonization really entailed.