Settler responsibility: Respatialising dissent in "America" beyond continental borders

Abstract

Settler responsibility is a worldview grounded in profound relationships, exchanges, and solidarities between Indigenous and non-native communities. When put into practice, settler responsibility requires constant collaboration, articulation, and radical care to support a rich re-envisioning of peace and justice. Through a critique of white settler colonial discourse, I demonstrate that shared histories of US imperialism link Caribbean and Pacific Islands. Building upon ku'ualoha ho'omanawanui's notion of kuleana consciousness, I argue that decolonial awareness in local spaces is a necessary step towards creating better worlds. Applying the Hawaiian concept of kuleana, my qualitative and archival findings from Bieke (Vieques), Guåhan (Guam), and Hawai'i calls settlers to deepen our approaches and ethical responsibilities to the Indigenous peoples whose lands we occupy. Bringing to the fore that Indigenous movements for demilitarisation respatialise dissent in "America" beyond continental borders, I seek to raise white settler consciousness about our own ignorance of these islands, histories, and peoples.