Cultural genocide and indigenous peoples: a sociological approach

The ‘solution’ is now the ‘problem:’ wind energy, colonisation and the ‘genocide-ecocide nexus’ in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca

“…35 Furthermore, the UN Convention did not recognise political identities, 36 produced a dominate conception of genocide based on mass-killing and, most importantly, largely neglected aspects of 'cultural genocide' in Lemkin's writings. 37 The politics behind the UN Convention, Lemkin's wider definition of genocide and the continuing destructive processes of capitalism, the nation-state and industrial development have given rise to an ontological split in genocide studies. Moses makes the distinction between liberal and post-liberal conceptions of genocide.…”

Genocide, Indian Policy, and Legislated Elimination of Indians in Canada

“…Part of the decolonization process for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples alike is to acknowledge the history of Canada-both the feel-good sentiments about peace and friendship and the darker side of the colonization process, which continues into the present day. This acknowledgment includes recognizing how we define, interpret, and apply both the law of genocide and the punishment for it (Moses 2008;Short 2010).…”

“…In the words of scholar John Steinbeck, "The Indians survived our open intention of wiping them out, and since the tide turned they have even weathered our good intentions toward them, which can be much more deadly" (2002,326). The residential school system, which damaged or destroyed Indigenous identities, languages, and cultures, was a form of cultural genocide intended to destroy the people (RCAP 1996;Smith 2005;Churchill 2010;Short 2010;van Krieken 2004). Whether intended to kill the Indian physically or kill the Indian within, countless colonial laws and policies have been purposefully designed to destroy Indigenous peoples all over North America.…”

“…By necessity, this will be a very broad overview, but there are numerous historical sources one can reference for this kind of information (RCAP 1996;Deloria 2003). Similarly, the concept of genocide, its development in law and theory, and the various debates around the United Nations' criteria for identifying genocide, are all very important issues relevant to a much deeper analysis of genocide than I can provide here (Ellinghaus 2009;Jaimes 1992;Moses 2008;McDonnell and Moses 2005;Short 2010;Wolfe 2006;Woolford 2009). Even the term "genocide" must be decolonized and redefined in a way that reflects the lived realities of colonized Indigenous peoples.…”

The Mau Mau Genocide: A Neo-Lemkinian Analysis

“…119 These measures prosecuted by the colonial government cannot be taken to be what Short described as sufficient measures to assist the transition from one socio-economic and political figuration to another. 120 Clearly we have evidence for the social decay and pathological dissolution of the Kikuyu economic foundation that could only eventuate in the destruction of the socio-political figuration. Therefore, these physical conditions could only lead to the ruination of the social life of the Kikuyu and amount to cultural and physical genocide.…”