DECOLONIZATION
Decolonization
We acknowledge that we all come from indigenous roots, and that we have all been colonized at some time in our cultural and ancestral history. We believe that decolonization is the path for harmonious and respectful relationship with the land and the beings that inhabit it, and strive to connect with our own ancestral roots as the path for decolonizing ourselves and our world view.
Our journey
As a first step in our own process of decolonization, we looked to the Indigenous leaders and voices to understand and be guided by their concept and practices of decolonization. In 2019, the core team at Abundance Community Farm were led by Pulxaneeks (Pul-ha-neeks), a member of our extended farm community, in a personal process of decolonization. Pulxaneeks is from the Eagle Clan of the Xanuksiala First Nation with Nuchanulth and Lummi Ancestry. She offers very powerful workshops through her business Heart to Heart - Indigenous Relationship Consultation. Our Community Agriculture (CA) members were invited in 2021 to register for this same workshop series and about 12 people participated.
A number of powerful teachings were received in these sessions, including the understanding that decolonization begins at a very personal level. It begins by grounding ourselves in an exploration of our own ancestry and by reconnecting with the land, culture and ancestors that shaped us over the generations. It asks us to examine what we have lost over time (in what ways have each of us been colonized?), and to feel this in our bodies, our hearts, and our minds. This approach to decolonization asks us to examine our privilege and the ways in which we have benefitted and continue to benefit from the structures of colonialism that oppress and perpetuate systems and processes that exert domination, power and control over other peoples, cultures and land, and to examine how all of this manifests in our relationships with self, community and the land. We committed to educating ourselves about our own history and the history of the people of this land.
We continue to educate ourselves by learning more about both the history and current experience of our First Nations neighbors. Some of us have studied the Truth and Reconciliation Committee report to understand the recommended actions and how we may support these in our community. Some of us have engaged in further educational opportunities with a Kelowna based Indigenous organization called Kinshift that offers a series of truth and reconciliation workshops.