4th November (Wednesday)
1.5 hours
New York 01:00
Buenos Aires 03:00
Amsterdam 07:00
Nairobi 09:00
Bangkok 13:00
Warrane-Sydney 17:00
Aotearoa-NZ 19:00
Organiser: Kelly Dombroski
This session explores what decolonisation can mean for settlers and other non-Indigenous people seeking to act responsibly within ongoing colonial contexts. Rather than focusing on decolonisation as a theoretical critique, the session examines concrete practices through which people are attempting to reshape relationships to land, Indigenous authority, knowledge, and community. The session is sponsored by the Transitioning to Caring Economies through Transformative Community Investment research programme at Massey University, Aotearoa New Zealand.
Through four short presentations, speakers reflect on efforts to enact decolonising commitments in different settings:
- Swarnima Kriti discusses her work as a high-caste Hindu researcher and resident in an Indigenous (Adivasi) region of India, exploring questions of privilege, accountability, and ethical engagement across histories of colonialism and caste domination.
- Claire Gibb reflects on the Te Whaitua o Kāpiti process and the Treaty House Model as an approach to environmental decision-making that seeks to balance Māori authority and Crown governance to reflect Treaty-based relationships.
- Kelsi Henderson examines the work of a Catholic Worker community practising radical hospitality and supporting self-built informal housing. The project raises important questions about land, housing justice, agency, autonomy and forms of solidarity between Māori and Pākehā.
- Kelly Dombroski reflects on decolonising practices within academic work itself, considering how teaching, research projects and supervision relationships can be designed to support Indigenous aspirations, redistribute authority, and challenge extractive models of knowledge production.
Discussant: Anup Dhar
Together, these contributions invite discussion of how settlers can move beyond acknowledgement toward practices of accountability in research, governance, and everyday community life. Key questions include:
- What responsibilities do settlers have in contexts of ongoing colonisation?
- How can we design institutions, research projects, and community initiatives in ways that respect Indigenous authority?
- What does accountability look like in practice rather than principle?
- How can settlers contribute to decolonising transformations without reproducing colonial relationships?
- What can participants in Europe, the Americas, and elsewhere learn from these experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand and India?
Format: Four short presentations (8-10 minutes each), followed by facilitated small-group discussions and plenary reflection.
Featuring: Kelly Dombroski, Claire Gibb, Kelsi Henderson, Swarnima Kriti, Anup Dhar.
Languages: English, Te Reo Māori