The article Decolonization is not a metaphor by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang discusses the concept of decolonization and how the term is often discussed and utilized in a way that ignores the harsh brutality behind the original instances of colonization. The term “decolonize” and other forms of the word typically is, as argued by the article, incorrectly used as a metaphor or a symbol. Tuck and Yang maintain their idea that decolonization is a term and concept that should only be used in the context of literal returning of land and property, along with freedom and sovereignty, back to those who were priorly colonized and stripped of their rights and independence.
The article directly challenges the way that modern society approaches conversations about decolonization and society’s use of the term itself. The idea comes up in academic, social, activistic, and progressive settings, and this article criticizes the vagueness and looseness of how the term “decolonization” is used. Tuck and Yang point out how watered down the term has become when you look at the bigger picture and the history behind the idea of decolonization and colonization. They point out the brutality, the violence, the sheer unfairness and hopelessness behind colonization. The way that those who were colonized were stripped of their power, freedom, and rights, decolonization is the idea that all of these are to be fully returned. Specifically, in Indigenous communities, the article mentioned the major asterisks behind historical instances of supposed decolonization, such as the high rates of death and missingness amongst women and the lack of clean and healthy conditions for the Indigenous people after having everything that had once been stripped from them supposedly handed back to them. There is more symbolism behind decolonization that is often not attached to it the way it should be, in that decolonization does not have only to do with the physical regaining of land, but rather also the internal and cultural freedom and autonomy of the formerly colonized communities.
I do agree with Tuck and Yang’s take on decolonization. It is a term and concept that when spoken about, often lacks the true seriousness and proper context behind the term and what it should truly mean. It is a powerful concept that should always be linked to symbolic freedom rather than just physical release from another governing body.
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