When European colonization began in the 15th century, villages that flourished with indigenous peoples were ravished and destroyed. European settlers were known for annihilating food, shelter, and provoking violence against women and children as part of their war tactics. Without the use of ceremonial practices, rituals, traditions, and other resources that contributed to their spiritual lives, they were forced away from their bodies making them feel oppressed and forgotten. Although all indigenous peoples were experiencing this loss of culture, women endured violence against them that enhanced their experience with colonization.

Although hundreds of years have passed, indigenous people today are still impacted by the effects of colonization. For example, in the documentary Beyond Recognition Corrina Gould explains the oppression her community endures as they fight for the rights to their sacred lands. Since many indigenous people don’t own the rights to their sacred lands, since they are not recognized by the federal court, shopping malls and parking lots tend to be built upon sacred burial sites and land. This act continues to strip the indigenous people from their culture, leaving no community of tradition behind for future generations.

Considering the effects of colonization on indigenous people, decolonization is an important factor in the fight for independence and recognition. Decolonization is the action or process of state to withdraw from a former colony, leaving it independent. Simply, decolonization means to undo colonization to gain back independence. To decolonize the Americas, we must talk about indigenous peoples’ lives, rather their death. As Dr. Risling Baldy explains, best-selling books are telling stories of their genocide, not their lives or futures. To undo colonization we have to shift the conversation around indigenous peoples to show the resilience of their lives, culture, heritage, etc.