There is a colonial voice inside each of us that is sometimes hard to acknowledge. It is intertwined in so many aspects of ourselves, and the ways of the world broadly speaking. Layers of dominant narratives weave a structural fabric that is a way of being and knowing, not just a structure of oppression. These systems of beliefs are often so engrained, and change over time, that we integrate them into our own ways of being without realizing it has occurred. We have become independent agents of forces of coloniality without the need to be instructed to do so. Yet, at the same time, we carry memory, sometimes silenced, of different ways of being, doing, and knowing. As we continue to raise our levels of consciousness, we engage in acts of resistance and re-existence, coming back to our deeper ancestral roots, and to a more decolonial mindset (atmosphere) that may open new options.
This session will describe how stories of impact can be brought to light by using a framework of coloniality as well as how those stories can amplify and deepen the understanding of coloniality, itself. We will explain the historical context and etiology of this project, describe the decolonial praxis experienced over two years, present themes of their stories, and a theoretical framework of what we call “the Octopus.” Participants will share how this storytelling and reflection process has helped to see how each thread of this ‘matrix of power’ interconnects within each story ultimately uncovering how coloniality works within ourselves and the world around us. Importantly, we will describe how this collaborative praxis can act as a catalyst in moving towards building decolonial villages.
Questions to be explored include:
1. Based on the stories highlighted here, do you hear any similar themes from your own story and the community’s story?
2. How can you see using a form of this decolonial praxis in identifying how the octopus works in your own life?
3. What do you see as the potential impact of doing this work on a broader scale?
4. How do we collaborate to make the octopus more visible? We all see different parts of it, and we really need many perspectives to understand the manifestation of the octopus in its entirety.