DARC: February 2009

Friday, February 27, 2009

Decolonize this! Checking in Solidarity with Indigenous Communities

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Thursday, March 5 at 4:30
Lady Eaton College Pit
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This informal workshop is for those who want to learn more about the ongoing colonization of Turtle Island and how to be an effective ally in the struggle for Indigenous Rights. Discussions will focus on decolonization, and will highlight some of the ways in which “allies” have reproduced colonial relations in everyday interactions and social justice organizing. However, the movements against colonization continue to grow, and there is a potential for broad based social movements that challenge Canadian capitalism, colonialism, patriarchy and ecocide. Concrete examples of resistance will also be raised, including the importance of Indigenous sovereignty through Indigenous agriculture.

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Jessica Yee is the founder and director of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network whose work is nationally focused on sexual health initiatives and cultural competency. At 23 she is a proud Mohawk-Chinese young woman who is also involved in anti-oppression and violence prevention education work with organizations such as the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Highway of Tears Initiative. She is a strong believer in the power of the youth voice and currently writes for rabble.ca, the Kahnawake Eastern Door, and SHAMELESS Magazine; For Girls Who Get It!

Dakota Brant is 21 years old and is a Haudenosaunee citizen (Mohawk Turtle Clan) born and raised on the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. She is a third year honours student working toward a double major BA in Indigenous Studies and Environmental studies. She is Vice-president of the Trent University Native Association (TUNA), has been a contributor to Redwire magazine, and is a bi-weekly columnist for the Turtle Island News. www.theturtleislandnews.com

DJ Danforth is a proud 25 year-old Native young man from the Oneida Nation. He is currently the Youth Cultural Coordinator for the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, and sings with drum groups Elk Soldier, and Tha Tribe.
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Sponsored by Decolonization and Anti-Racism Coalition (DARC) and Trent University Native Association (TUNA)

About DARC

Decolonization and Anti-Racism Circle (DARC) is an organization made up of Peterborough community members that work with the goal of building solidarity across differences for social change. We use a broad range of tactics including public education, social support, advocacy, and direct action to address historical and ongoing injustices that affect racialized and Indigenous peoples. We recognize that structures of oppression including patriarchy, ecocide, capitalism, imperialism, colonialism and racism are interconnected, mutually reinforcing and embodied in institutions. We believe decolonization 'at home' is an integral part of the struggle for global justice and self-determination. Decolonization is only effective by taking action through consensual efforts and building solidarity across intersecting identities and communities that are affected by structures of oppression.

DARC can be reached by email at darcpeterborough@riseup.net

Basis of Unity

As people who identify as Indigenous, as people of colour and/or as mixed-race persons, we come together with the recognition that there is a need for a network of support and advocacy in order to address covert, everyday racism and the climate of exclusion that does exists within Peterborough. By aligning ourselves with other social justice organizations we are better able to address intersecting concerns such as gender, culture, poverty, immigration, sexual identity, status, difability ('differently' abled), age, and life experiences (e.g., class, HIV serostatus, physical and mental health status etc.). By maintaining an organizing unit comprised of people who identify as Indigenous, as people of colour and/or as mixed-race persons we hope to encourage leadership among racialized and Indigenous people and to help nurture the mental space necessary to be able to recognize, criticize and address experiences of racism. In these ways we can work towards community wellness, anti-racism and decolonization!

Guiding Principles

By using a non-hierarchical structure and consensus decision making practices, DARC strives to serve racialized and Indigenous communities by first addressing their lived experiences rather than focusing on White guilt and White privilege. DARC will do this by:

- Recognizing the need to unite and actively fight for mutual self-determination through a movement led by racialized and Indigenous peoples.
- Understanding that services and effort to organize are most successful when they involve the communities served, DARC seeks to support and promote the active participation, leadership and experiential knowledge of racialized and Indigenous peoples throughout its structure and work.
- Understanding and addressing everyday covert racism, and how it creates a climate of exclusion.
-Fostering a deeper analysis of the ways in which colonialism, imperialism, ecocide, patriarchy and other structures of oppression continue to impact the lives of racialized and Indigenous people in different ways.
- Appreciating the collective histories of struggle against racial and ethnic discrimination as well as other forms of oppression that we work to resist through organizing, supporting and advocating for our diverse communities.
- Acknowledge the importance of uniting Indigenous and racialized people in common struggles while recognizing our different communities, histories, and experiences of oppression and resistance.
- Work in solidarity across differences by collaborating with other community based organizations to address intersecting identities and oppressions.
- Recognizing that Canada is on stolen Indigenous land, and working in solidarity to challenge and confront a colonial system based on dispossession, genocide, racist laws and illegal borders!