Q: Why is there a need to "unsettle settlers"?

​

Predominant beliefs about the United States are saturated with colonialist assumptions. Ideas of manifest destiny, the understanding that historical “progress” has (inevitably) and unidirectionally been led by Europeans, the idea that Indians are people of the past rather than the present or future, and the belief that Indians lacked (and still lack) their own science, technology, and epistemology are just some of the most prominent and inescapable ideas that inform students, staff and faculty by virtue of being part of a settler colonial society built upon the denial of Indigenous nationhood and civilization.

​

Q: What does unsettling refer to?

​

Among other things, our use of unsettling refers to challenging the misconceptions of members of the settler society and with them, the emotional and identity attachments  built upon and accompanying them. This involves processes of cognitive and emotional decolonization, an "unlearning" of myths and grappling with the implications of that unlearning. An essential element of our overall project, in tandem with the support for community projects, is thus the ongoing “unsettling” of Pitzer community members, starting with the basic – yet complex and symbolically loaded - question of “Do you know whose land we are on (and if not, why not)?”.  This is, of course, just a start. 

​

Q: How does unsettling relate to higher education?

​

Unfortunately, education itself at all levels has long been an element of the colonial domination of Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island (North America). Settler colonial societies commonly generate education that denies the existence of prior (and current) civilizations on the land, denigrates the Indigenous cultures as inferior and/or heathen, and asserts the universal applicability and supremacy of its educational goals and values. From abstract ideas to the nuts and bolts of institutional procedures, education has been an arena of tremendous cultural clash in the United States, a clash that historically has been resolved through the unquestioned, disruptive imposition of Eurocentric criteria, knowledge, epistemologies, and policies onto Indigenous peoples. Unsettling, in tandem with "making space" and other projects, seeks to change this. 

​

Is unsettling just a cognitive or conceptual change?

​

No; we and others understand that unsettling yourself in a settler society is not just about changing ideas, and nor is it a solo activity. Rather, it is about being open to learning from the Indigenous peoples, about being self-reflective about the impacts of being part of a settler society, and about seeking to make changes that reflect the implications of this knowledge and these impacts. ​Unsettling is a process and something that is best done collectively and in learning relationship with Indigenous peoples.

​

Q: Is unsettling just for white settlers and/or their descendants?

​

Most people who grow up in the US receive an education full of misrepresentations, bias and omissions regarding the place of Indigenous peoples and this history of colonization and settlement. Even those who are not descendants of Euro-American settlers or are not white may find the "unlearning" and other aspects of unsettling to be useful in gaining a more accurate and insightful perspective regarding US history, history of places, and more.