Sophia Vasquez WK 2 Response

Race, Space and the Law was focused on explaining how land is not innocent but rather a very intentional tool of settlers to give themselves more power and to erase the history of indigenous people on the land. Land as Life explains the importance of land to indigenous identity, culture, and way of life but historically US systems of government have tried to minimize the important relationship indigenous people have with the land so that they can take it from them. Decolonization is not a Metaphor tries to emphasize that decolonization is an active process, not just a word or something done with social justice, it is focused on giving land back to indigenous communities and focusing on their futures and not the settlers. All the articles connect with each other well and kind of move from the broad topic of land, to then why land is important to indigenous communities, and how we can reverse what has happened historically to indigenous lands in an active way. One idea all the articles focused on heavily was that settlers have often tried to erase indigenous people’s roots to land to make themselves and those they govern feel like they have a “right” to the land since they were the “first”. The articles also did a great job at focusing on indigenous realities and not settlers’ experience or action. Oftentimes articles about indigenous lands focus on the settlers instead of the lived experience of those who were there first. The first article we read really challenged my idea of land as not innocent because in the same way borders and boundaries are active and a political tool, so is the land we stand on. Land as Life expanded more understanding of the importance of land to indigenous people. I understood that it was significant but I hadn’t made the connection on how the US government has tried to erase that significance to make the removal of indigenous land less violent, when in reality it was violent to indigenous people in every essence. Lastly, Decolonization challenged my idea of decolonization as a word simply thrown around in class but an action or a movement that needs to be done with intention and care. I am taking a class on “La Frontera” and the idea of how land and the way we move on these lands is a very personal and sometimes violent experience.