West, Emily

During the era of European colonization, many indigenous people were separated from their homes and the lands that they had previously occupied. As colonists moved into the land and took over, indigenous people were forced to either submit to colonial rule or leave. Not only did European colonization separate indigenous people from their homes, but it also separated them from their bodies. This is especially the case for indigenous women and “Two-Spirit” people. The cultural imperialism that came with European colonialism imposed ideas on them about the body, sexuality, and gender presentation, which Driskill refers to as “colonized sexuality.” The way that indigenous people understood and felt about their bodies and sexuality was essentially taken away from them.

In addition to European colonists forcing their ideas about the body and sexuality onto indigenous people, they also often forced themselves physically upon them. During the first wave of colonization with the Spanish mission system, indigenous women and children were often victims of sexual violence by Spanish soldiers. Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy explained in her talk, “Resilient Histories for Resilient Futures,” that this sexual violence would often take place in public settings and anyone who tried to stop it was beaten and killed. This also stripped away indigenous women and “Two-Spirit” people’s view of their bodies and their sexuality because of the trauma of the sexual assault. They no longer had the same understanding of themselves in this way. As a result of both the imposition of ideas of sexuality and the actual sexual trauma/assault, indigenous women and “Two-Spirit” people often no longer had a sense of comfortability and stability when it came to their sexuality and their bodies. I believe this is what Driskill means by the idea that they were “stolen from their bodies.”

The era of European colonization had a great impact on indigenous people in many other ways as well, including loss of land, loss of culture, loss of identity, etc. Many indigenous people continue to be impacted by European colonization in these ways even today. In the documentary “Beyond Recognition,” Corrina Gould explains the recent struggle of the indigenous people of what is now the Oakland/San Francisco area. She asserts that the indigenous people of that area are upset because the majority of their land has been taken over by big cities and because very little of their sacred sites remain. They feel a loss of culture and identity because they aren’t able to practice their traditions on their own land due to urbanization. This is just one example of the many ways that indigenous people continue to be impacted by colonization.

However, many indigenous people have fought against colonization in the past and they continue to do so today. In “Beyond Recognition,” Gould explains how she and Indian People Organizing for Change are raising money through a land trust in order to preserve the original culture of their homeland. They are doing this in an effort to take back some control from colonization and maintain a sense of connection to the land and to their ancestors.

Other indigenous people groups are fighting back against colonization in different ways. For example, the native people of Humboldt County have joined forces with the STEM and Natural Resources programs at Humboldt State University in an effort to educate students on the cultural practices of those indigenous people and their ancestors (Baldy). In big and small ways, indigenous people are fighting to take back what colonists stole from them so many years ago.