In his article, Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the Native, Patric Wolfe seeks to explain that settler colonialism is experienced all over the world and is a structure and not an event. He explains that there needs to be a strategic elimination of some of the indigenous groups, a breakdown of culture and community to make room for the social structure of the colonizers. This does not take effect as one singular event but rather years of erosion that in time are replaced by the religion and culture of the oppressor group. The slow elimination of indigenous peoples of Canada was first established by genocide and then the continuous restructuring by way  of  residential schools and reservations as well as the devaluing of native lands and sacrificial zones. This is a strategic attack to conform and use people but not to totally eliminate them as there may be ways to exploit them. Similar to what John Locke wrote, the animals and people and resources of a colonizer’s land are the property of the land owner and they are to be used for personal success. The fabric of the constitution of settler colonialism is reproduced throughout the world but each time it follows the same pattern and also lays the groundwork for future generations of colonial members to exploit the original inhabitants. 

These structures that continue today ensure that the oppression of indigenous people can happen as if it were on auto pilot. The opinions and social norms of the colonizers create generational inherent biases that view the knowledge and beliefs of the indigenous as less than their own. 

Writer and activist Dr. Leanne Simpson challenges that way that colonizers inherently misjudge her teachings through story and multimedia. Leanne, a member of the Alderville First Nation uses storytelling to explain how indigenous knowledge has always been discredited by others who have no basis of understanding when it comes to our relationship with the natural world. The stories she shares show that there are invaluable lessons that can be taken from the environment and its interconnectedness. This type of pedagogy does not traditionally carry weight in settler colonial styles of teaching and academia which attempt to discredit the relationship indigenous people have with the land. 

She explains that the stories are  spirits that illuminate and shift and we can use  stories to represent what we need and who we are speaking with or what we are trying to explain. When it comes to decolonizing education, Dr. Simpson explains that we need to cherish the innate knowledge of children and learn inter generationally and consider how love and compassion make for better learning environments.

Above: Ojibwe woman tapping a sugar maple, photograph by Roland Reed (1908). US Library of Congress (cph.3c05740): http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c05740

 Her heritage is one of appreciating a variety of opinions within a community and using the multitude of lived experiences to create solutions founded in respect and responsibility. The people and stories she discusses, like the one of the Sugar Bush, are a link in a chain of generations in the making. These same stories can be used to explain current issues and sufferings. Dr. Leanne Simpson's lecture explains that the seeds are new ways of teaching the younger generations about social and environmental respect and stewardship as a way to break down settler colonial ideas that seek to disrupt and remove us from the land. This is to be a rebellion of love that amplifies the knowledge of others and amplifies the importance of community.