Knowledge Production and Colonial Myths: Centring Indigenous Knowledges Through Decolonization

Abstract

This chapter discusses whose histories matter, what the purpose of history is, how representation is used in nation building, the role of knowledge and power, and how Indigenous communities resist dominant discourses of representation through decolonial processes. We will look at Malidoma Somé’s “Of Water and the Spirit” text through a Fanonian lens to understand and theorize what has been lost. The terms “knowledges” and “histories” refer to the multiplicities of past events, standpoints, and understandings of our lived reality that have been disputed and created by—and for—Indigenous and European settler communities. I argue that the use of history, representation, language, and power by European colonizers has dehumanized Indigenous communities by creating distorted myths and knowledge claims. Resistance to these distortions is crucial, and suggestions for decolonization are explored. Decolonization requires the re-centring of Indigenous knowledges through the reclaiming of history and healing of our individual and collective Siè.