Page 16 - Colonization and Decolonization: A Manual for Indigenous Liberation in the 21st Century

In the southern US, the descendents of African slaves were also subjected to an apartheid system until the 1950's, when the civil rights movement arose and dismantled it (some refer to blacks as an internal colony of the US). Although racism has been officially denounced, & apartheid legal systems repealed, blacks in the US continue to suffer from racism as an oppressed peoples.
In both Canada & the US, formal apartheid still exists for Indigenous people. In Canada, this includes the Indian Act and the Department of Indian Affairs, which comprise a set of separate laws, legal status, & political systems for Indigenous peoples. Native peoples continue to live on reserves, usually on land unable to sustain the population through traditional methods. As a result, many resort to some form ofresource exploitation in collaboration with corporations.
One result of apartheid is an overall lack of knowledge by non-Indigenous people as to the social conditions under which colonized peoples live. It is, in fact, the establishment of two separate worlds, or social realities (i.e., colonizer & colonized).
White Supremacy
In European settler-nations, racism is more accurately termed white supremacy, the mistaken & arrogant belief that all things good were made by Europeans, who are inherently smarter, better, more beautiful, and stronger than all others. This message is constantly repeated through a variety of means, from official history to media coverage, from entertainment to the justice system. It is so widespread & pervasive that it is accepted as an unspoken truth.
White supremacy is a foundation upon which European civilization is based, a belief that enabled European colonizers to engage in invasion, genocide, and slavery. Christianity was an important method by which white supremacy was maintained. During the invasion of the Americas, it was the Christian church which provided both moral and legal authority to colonial forces. It was, in fact, the duty of Christians to conquer and possess the lands of "infidels" and pagans (non-Christians, which at that time really meant non-Europeans).
For centuries, European settlers & colonial authorities proudly proclaimed white supremacy as righteous and as God's will Gust as colonialism was). In the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan had several million members in the US, while tens of thousands joined on the Canadian prairies. Many government officials, mayors, professionals, and police were members ofthe KKK.
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After World War 2 and the defeat of Nazi
Germany, racism as an official government policy became less popular. It was even denounced after the black civil rights struggles of the 1950s. After the rebellions of the 1960s & '70s, governments even began to claim that they were anti- racist! Despite this, white supremacy remains firmly entrenched in Western society, and non-European peoples remain racially oppressed & marginalized (despite some concessions).
This is because white supremacy is deeply rooted in European history, culture, and philosophy. It is not a problem of a few people with bad attitudes, but is instead a systemic problem maintained through social institutions, beliefs, & traditions. White supremacy is similar to patriarchy, a taboo subject that is rarely discussed because it strikes at the very core of Westem society.
Patriarchy
Patriarchy means 'male rule'. Most ancient civilizations began as patriarchal systems, in which adult "males had all political, economic & social power. Women had no more rights than slaves. In ancient Rome, the adult male of a household could kill his wife or sell her & their children into slavery.
During the European Middle-Ages, millions of women were killed during the Holy Inquisition. They were accused
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of being witches & pagans. In Western Europe & North America, white women could not vote until the 20 century.
Most Indigenous societies in N. America, on the other hand, were matrilineal prior to colonization. Women had far more political, economic & social power. In many, lines of descent passed through the mother. Abuse was limited by the presence of family & community in daily life. Nor were women considered the property of men,
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