Graduation Year
2016
Date of Thesis Acceptance
Spring 5-11-2016
Major Department or Program
Politics - Environmental Studies
Advisor(s)
Aaron Bobrow-Strain
Abstract
Social movement coalitions between Indigenous and environmental activists promote can unity but also exist in the shadow of ongoing Settler-colonialism and Indigenous self-determination movements. With an understanding of the intersectional nature of social oppression, coalitions of diverse stakeholders have the potential to build power and momentum towards radical political change. Coalitions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous actors have the capacity to not only achieve specific political objectives, but also restructure power dynamics among coalition members and transform social relationships. In order to experience these transformations, alliances must demand more than symbolic gestures of solidarity; hegemonic power structures cannot be dismantled within colonial frameworks. Therefore, coalitions with a strong commitment to social transformation must engage in the process of decolonizing their organizing. Only when an understanding of the complex social relations these coalitions embody transforms into unsettled alliances that actively support Indigenous resurgence and self-determination will these collaborations achieve their truly transformative potential.
Page Count
47
Subject Headings
Coalitions -- Cross-cultural studies, Social change-- Political aspects-- United States, Indigenous peoples -- Colonization, Keystone XL Pipeline Project, Social movements and transformations, Whitman College 2016 -- Dissertation collection --Politics-Environmental Studies
Permanent URL
http://hdl.handle.net/10349/201608111294
Document Type
Whitman Community Accessible Thesis
Terms of Use
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Recommended Citation
Steichen, Lorah Elizabeth, "Unsettled Solidarity: Decolonizing Indigenous/Non-Indigenous Coalitions" (2016). Honors Theses. 301.
http://arminda.whitman.edu/theses/301
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