Anti-Colonial Science: A Course Journal. Vol. 1, 2022. https://ojs.library.dal.ca/acs/

Sustainability and Anticolonialism: Foundations for Anticolonial Science

Ric Peever

According to the self-identified anticolonial CLEAR lab, anticolonial science is the practice of science in a way that does not assume settler or colonial access to Indigenous lands to achieve goals1. It also seeks to do science without replicating the harmful structures of traditional Western methodology.2 Anticolonial science has a special relationship with sustainability, which focuses on meeting our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. Sustainability is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to cultivate positive, long-lasting relationships and solutions to problems that affect both the earth and the people in it. Despite its history as a dominantly Western and human-centred field, sustainability has the unique potential to foster the growth and development of anticolonial science in both practice and theory, as demonstrated through a discussion of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, Traditional Ecological Knowledge discourses, and CLEAR lab methodology.

Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) are perhaps one of the most well-known and clear-cut examples of the relationship between sustainability and anticolonial science. IPCAs are lands or waters that are primarily under the care of Indigenous governments, which conserve and protect them through Indigenous laws, governance, and knowledge systems.3 Methods of governance vary as Indigenous groups do, but all IPCAs share three elements; they are Indigenous led, represent a long-term commitment to conservation or protection, and elevate Indigenous rights and responsibilities.4 IPCAs fit well into the CLEAR Lab’s definition of anticolonial science because they are a form of land governance that does not replicate colonial methods or assume colonial access to land. In fact, they are specifically designed to re-establish Indigenous sovereignty of the land through the elevation of rights and responsibilities, and are a form of repatriation, or “land back” as the term has been coined.5 They are also examples of sustainability because they are impact-motivated (both environmentally and socially), long term, holistic approaches to conservation.

In this case study, sustainability fosters the growth and development of anticolonial science through its support of IPCAs as a method of environmental and social protection. development. While it may seem evident to some that Indigenous land sovereignty is a positive thing, other people may need more convincing. One study done in the realm of sustainability discovered that throughout the world, IPCAs showed consistently above-average rates of biodiversity, the loss of which is incredibly detrimental to our planet.6 This western science-based argument may seem more logical or tangible to settlers, leading to a growing acceptance of Indigenous land sovereignty.

A second area in which sustainability has the potential to foster the growth of anticolonial science is in the discourse surrounding the preservation, promotion, and application of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). TEK refers to the vast knowledge systems regarding the natural environment that have been complied and passed down by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years.7 Under past colonial rule, much of this knowledge was intentionally destroyed or denied, but recently attitudes regarding TEK have begun to change. TEK is now often seen as a resource to be mined or co-opted by western science, particularly in the fields of biodiversity, conservation, and sustainability. While this may seem like the opposite of anticolonial science, Leanne Simpson points out that this appropriation of knowledge has not gone unnoticed by Indigenous peoples, and that the discourse surrounding these subjects have become important sites of resistance and mobilization.8 TEK is not compartmentalized or reductionist like western science; rather it exists as part of a system that encompasses an entire worldview, culture, and spirituality; making its very existence inherently political.9

Despite its harms, sustainability can provide a good foundation for the discourse surrounding the preservation and usage of TEK because it too is political, but also because of how ‘trendy’ it is. The growing awareness (and fear) of climate change and recent environmental and humanitarian disasters have led to a global demand for a solution; and sustainability has been put forward (the most famous example being the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals). This popularity means that any and all discourse surrounding the topic will reach a wide audience, shining a light on these sites of Indigenous resistance and mobilization and helping to restructure the way people view TEK as a whole. The discourse surrounding this issue has also popularized the concept of ‘two-eyed seeing’ which is a combination of IEK and Western science that inverts the traditional roles of each.10 Two-eyed seeing is based in Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and worldviews, and rather than using IEK to fill the gaps in Western research, it uses Western technologies as a tool to address specific problems.11

A third way in which sustainability interacts with anticolonial science is demonstrated by the mandate and methodologies of the CLEAR lab, in Newfoundland, Canada. The CLEAR lab is a self-proclaimed anticolonial science lab that focuses on plastic pollution and Land relations in science.12 The lab has established a unique governance structure and methodologies that refuse to replicate colonial structures.13 They centre Indigenous knowledge, guidance, and ceremony within their methodologies, as well as other socially informed practices such as feminism and anti-racism.14 One of the main issues that the CLEAR lab seeks to refute in their practice is that of colonialism’s assumed access to Indigenous lands, meaning that they have established non-violent methodologies that are reflexive, holistic, and reduce harm to the Land wherever humanly possible.15 This approach makes them a prime example of sustainability within scientific research and practice because of their shared values.

The relationship between sustainability and anticolonial science displayed in this case is a mutually beneficial one. The methodologies and organization of the CLEAR lab are a perfect example of how anticolonial science is also a sustainable practice. However, the existence of CLEAR as an anticolonial research lab does not need to be defended or justified by its sustainability, and it must be wholly acknowledged that Liboiron’s goal in this endeavour was anticoloniality, not sustainability. The fact that CLEAR succeeded in both is actually due the overlapping values of each field. Regardless, it does act as an argument in favour of sharing and replicating this anticolonial structure more broadly.

It is important to acknowledge that despite its vastness, the dominant approach to sustainability is currently a western one, and thus there will always be conflict with anticolonial agendas. But despite this incommensurability, sustainability as a field of study does provide a positive foundation or network within which anticolonial science can grow. The existence of IPCAs, IEK discourse, and CLEAR lab methodologies have proven to be powerful arguments in favour of anticolonial science and its potential for growth, especially with respect to sustainability.

Bibliography

About IPCAs — CRP Website. (n.d.). Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://conservation-reconciliation.ca/about-ipcas

Liboiron, Max. 2021. Pollution Is Colonialism. Durham: Duke University Press. Accessed March 31, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Liboiron, Max. 2017. “Anti-colonial science – CLEAR.” Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action research. https://civiclaboratory.nl/2017/12/29/feminist-anti-colonial-science/

Simpson, L. 2004. “Anticolonial Strategies for the Recovery and Maintenance of Indigenous Knowledge,” The American Indian Quarterly(28): 373-384.

Zurba, M. 2021.Land Governance and Sustainability, Lecture in SUST 2000. College of Sustainability, Dalhousie University. November 1

Pictou, S. 2021. What the Earth Asks of Us, Lecture in SUST 2000. College of Sustainability, Dalhousie University. November 29

Endnotes

  1. Liboiron, Max. 2017. “Anti-colonial science – CLEAR.” Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action research.↩︎

  2. Liboiron 2017↩︎

  3. About IPCAs — CRP Website. (n.d.). Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership.↩︎

  4. CRP Website n.d.↩︎

  5. CRP Website n.d.↩︎

  6. Land Governance and Sustainability, Zurba, M. 2021. Lecture in SUST 2000. College of Sustainability, Dalhousie University.↩︎

  7. Simpson, L. 2004. “Anticolonial Strategies for the Recovery and Maintenance of Indigenous Knowledge”↩︎

  8. Simpson 2004↩︎

  9. Simpson 2004↩︎

  10. What the Earth Asks of Us, Pictou, S. 2021. Lecture in SUST 2000. College of Sustainability, Dalhousie University. November 1↩︎

  11. Pictou 2021↩︎

  12. Liboiron, Max. 2021. Pollution Is Colonialism. Durham: Duke University Press. Accessed March 31, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.↩︎

  13. Liboiron 2017↩︎

  14. Liboiron 2021↩︎

  15. Liboiron 2017↩︎

Copyright (c) 2022 Ric Peever

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