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Contradictions of Solidarity: Whiteness, Settler Coloniality, and the Mainstream Environmental Movement

Contradictions of Solidarity: Whiteness, Settler Coloniality, and the Mainstream Environmental... Contradictions of Solidarity Whiteness, Settler Coloniality, and the Mainstream Environmental Movement Joe Curnow and Anjali Helferty ABSTRACT: In this article, we trace the racialized history of the environmental move- ment in the United States and Canada that has defi ne d the mainstream movement as a default white space. We then interrogate the turn to solidarity as a way to escape/inter- vene in the racialized and colonial underpinnings of mainstream environmentalism, demonstrating that the practice of solidarity itself depends on these same racial and colonial systems. Given the lack of theorization on solidarity within environmentalism, we draw on examples of solidarity work that bridge place and power and are predicated on disparate social locations, such as in accompaniment or the fair trade movement. We conclude that the contradictions of racialized and colonial solidarity should not preclude settler attempts to engage in solidarity work, but rather become inscribed into environmentalist practices as an ethic of accountability. KEYWORDS: decolonization, environmentalism, reconciliation, solidarity, whiteness In late 2016, thousands of water protectors, Indigenous and settler, celebrated a hard-won vic- tory. Th ey had temporarily stopped pipeline construction at the Oceti Sakowin Camp, near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation. Months before, Indigenous youth put http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Environment and Society Berghahn Books

Contradictions of Solidarity: Whiteness, Settler Coloniality, and the Mainstream Environmental Movement

Curnow, Joe; Helferty, Anjali
Environment and Society , Volume 9 (1) – Sep 1, 2018
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References (87)

Publisher
Berghahn Books
Copyright
© 2020 Berghahn Books
ISSN
2150-6779
eISSN
2150-6787
DOI
10.3167/ares.2018.090110
Publisher site
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Abstract

Contradictions of Solidarity Whiteness, Settler Coloniality, and the Mainstream Environmental Movement Joe Curnow and Anjali Helferty ABSTRACT: In this article, we trace the racialized history of the environmental move- ment in the United States and Canada that has defi ne d the mainstream movement as a default white space. We then interrogate the turn to solidarity as a way to escape/inter- vene in the racialized and colonial underpinnings of mainstream environmentalism, demonstrating that the practice of solidarity itself depends on these same racial and colonial systems. Given the lack of theorization on solidarity within environmentalism, we draw on examples of solidarity work that bridge place and power and are predicated on disparate social locations, such as in accompaniment or the fair trade movement. We conclude that the contradictions of racialized and colonial solidarity should not preclude settler attempts to engage in solidarity work, but rather become inscribed into environmentalist practices as an ethic of accountability. KEYWORDS: decolonization, environmentalism, reconciliation, solidarity, whiteness In late 2016, thousands of water protectors, Indigenous and settler, celebrated a hard-won vic- tory. Th ey had temporarily stopped pipeline construction at the Oceti Sakowin Camp, near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation. Months before, Indigenous youth put

Journal

Environment and Society – Berghahn Books

Published: Sep 1, 2018

Keywords: decolonization;environmentalism;reconciliation;solidarity;whiteness

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