Reading Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Eve Tuck, and K. Wayne Yang’s introductory chapter to their book about decolonizing education felt very familiar having read “Decolonization is not a Metaphor” by the latter 2 authors. I found very strong connections between the two especially how upfront and confident the authors are.  The introduction reads like helpful and hopeful hints in the process of decolonization.

I found the two mentions of food in the text interesting and contrasting. The first briefly talks about food governance and understanding the systems that control local foods in connection with the tribal authority as well as briefly mentioning community food sovereignty. Moreover I found the second mention of food on the opposite end. Linda Tuhiwai Smith discusses the ancient european practice of ethnography through intrusion and how the unintentional host finds themselves offering food in a sympathetic gesture. The foreigners attempt to gain any foothold in the community is brokered and mediated by the exchange of food.

The small lessons that are to be learned in this introduction for scholars attempting to undertake decolonizing practices in education revitalize and refocus ongoing decolonization. The authors draw from personal experience, something I have found to be integral in indigenous perspectives is a more intimate and personalized voice that is not found in canonical western academia.

The final point that stood out to me was the conclusion in which the authors write “The horrors of settler colonialism, of capitalism will not be the end chapter of the
human story. It is powerful to write from this notion as a given. It is powerful to
consider, as a baseline, that this millennium will be one of decolonization.” Understanding a decolonial future begins with decolonizing the present. Now more than ever does decolonization take precedent in changing the structures of our worlds.