eco-colonialism
Eco-colonialism refers to the continuation of colonial systems through environmental conservation practices that marginalize Indigenous peoples and their knowledge. Western-led efforts often impose external frameworks onto Indigenous lands—displacing communities, dismissing Indigenous science, and enforcing conservation models rooted in extraction and settler colonialism.
Instead of recognizing Indigenous peoples as the rightful stewards of their territories, eco-colonialism treats land as separate from its caretakers. True environmental justice must uplift Indigenous sovereignty and ancestral knowledge systems, which offer holistic approaches to land stewardship, ecological balance, and climate resilience.
Instead of recognizing Indigenous peoples as the rightful stewards of their territories, eco-colonialism treats land as separate from its caretakers. True environmental justice must uplift Indigenous sovereignty and ancestral knowledge systems, which offer holistic approaches to land stewardship, ecological balance, and climate resilience.
Reference: Hernandez, J. (2022). Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science. North Atlantic Books.
read the full series
- ✿ Eco-Colonialism in the Amazon
- ✿ Saving the Planet Shouldn't Mean Hurting People
- ✿ Eco-Colonialism and the Asháninka of Peru
- ✿ Eco-Colonialism in Ecuador: The Fight to Protect Yasuni
- ✿ The River Remembers: Indigenous Fight for Sacred Waters Against False Solutions
- ✿ Eco-Colonialism & the Munduruku's Struggle Against Cargill
- ✿ Eco-Colonialism and the Shuar’s Fight to Protect Their Land
- ✿ The Canadian Multinational Extraction Crisis
- ✿ When Conservation Becomes Colonization: Case Studies from Guatemala
- ✿ Drowning a Community to Save a Canal
- ✿ When the River Can Sue You, Eco-Colonialism Ends
