decolonialization
Definition
Decolonialization refers to the process of addressing and rectifying the devastating historical and ongoing impacts of colonization on Indigenous Peoples, including the effects of dispossession, forced assimilation, cultural suppression, and systemic inequities. This requires integrating consideration of colonization's legacy into contemporary theorizing about intercultural contact and acculturation. Decolonialization demands that acculturation science move beyond its traditional focus to examine Indigenous experiences of involuntary intercultural contact and to center Indigenous perspectives, priorities, and frameworks when designing policies and research intended to benefit Native communities.
Sources: Ward et al. (2025)
Related Terms
Applications
Decolonialization and Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism's application to Indigenous Peoples requires careful examination of potential risks and conditional support. Indigenous peoples may support multicultural policies only if they do not override bicultural partnerships, treaty obligations, and Indigenous priorities established through historical agreements, and only if multiculturalism is grounded in principles that respect Indigenous Peoples' distinct status.
Sources: Ward et al. (2025)
Decolonialization and Acculturation Science
Acculturation science has largely overlooked Indigenous Peoples despite their experiencing extensive intercultural contact on their native lands, representing a critical blind spot that fails to account for the historical context of colonization and the involuntary nature of Indigenous contact with settler societies. Indigenizing acculturation science requires adopting Indigenous research paradigms, centering Indigenous voices and conceptualizations, and integrating perspectives of indigeneity with acculturation theory.
Sources: Ward et al. (2025)
