Sinnikäs kolonialismi: alkuperäiskansaisuus ja kehityksen politiikka
Abstract
Resilient colonialism: Indigeneity and the politics of development
Rapid and unpredictable global changes have given birth to a political ethos of resilience. In the
midst of calls for preparedness, international politics has re-discovered the (allegedly) innate qualities
of indigenous peoples that enable them to adapt to and accommodate change. The peoples’
exemplary resilience has been deemed empowering, not only for themselves, but for the planet as
a whole. However, as we argue, the seemingly well-meaning and benign political celebration of
resilient indigeneity continues marginalization and othering, practices that are often considered to
belong to the colonial past. The article engages in a critical discussion on indigeneity, colonialism
and resilience – topics that have yet to be brought into a dialogue with one another. With reference
to contemporary political initiatives of the United Nations and the Arctic Council, we illustrate the
ways in which the political focus on and desire for indigenous resilience continue the age-old expectation
that indigenous peoples will adapt, endure and persevere. Resilience enables colonial
practices to persist; it is yet another façade allowing those in power to continue to order time and
to ignore the relevance of the past and current injuries indigenous peoples have endured. The violence
of resilience lies in its insistence that those whose only option so far has been to adapt continue
to do so without any guarantees of better circumstances.
