decolonizes
Removes colonial rule
Decolonizes is the act of undoing colonial control or influence.
A territory decolonizes when it gains independence from a colonizing power.
More recently, the word describes efforts to remove colonial assumptions from institutions, curricula, or ways of thinking: The university is working to decolonize its history department.
Critics sometimes find the term overused or vague.
Freedom from external control
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- self-ruleGovernance without outside control
- nationhoodStatus as independent country
- self-governanceIndependent management of affairs
statehood · autonomy · devolution · secession · republic · constitution · referendum · enfranchisement
Adapting to native practices
- repatriationFormal return to homeland
- restorationReturning something to condition
- revitalizationRestoring vigor or vitality
- resurgenceReturn after dormancy
reclaiming · restitution · reparations · heritage · recentering · recovering · reconnection · reassertion
Release from legal bondage
- freedomAbsence of constraint
- unshacklingRemoving fetters or constraints
- disenthrallmentRelease from mental bondage
- releaseTo let go
extrication · unfettering · disengagement · unyoking · abolition · dismantling · overthrow · resistance
Shifting away from self-focus
- indigenizingAdapting to local culture
- reframingChanging interpretive context
- unlearningAbandoning acquired beliefs
- epistemicRelating to knowledge
curriculum · pedagogy · counternarrative · centering · challenging · critiquing · disrupting · reimagining
independence
Freedom from external control
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- self-ruleGovernance without outside control
- nationhoodStatus as independent country
self-governance · statehood · autonomy · devolution · secession · republic · constitution · referendum · enfranchisement · citizenship
indigenization
Adapting to native practices
- repatriationFormal return to homeland
- restorationReturning something to condition
- revitalizationRestoring vigor or vitality
resurgence · reclaiming · restitution · reparations · heritage · recentering · recovering · reconnection · reassertion · repossession
emancipation
Release from legal bondage
- freedomAbsence of constraint
- unshacklingRemoving fetters or constraints
- disenthrallmentRelease from mental bondage
release · extrication · unfettering · disengagement · unyoking · abolition · dismantling · overthrow · resistance · uprising
decentering
Shifting away from self-focus
- indigenizingAdapting to local culture
- reframingChanging interpretive context
- unlearningAbandoning acquired beliefs
epistemic · curriculum · pedagogy · counternarrative · centering · challenging · critiquing · disrupting · reimagining · rethinking
decolonizescolonizes
Establishes control over territory
conquers · annexes · subjugates · imperializes · occupies
decolonizescolonizes
Establishes control over territory
indoctrinates · assimilates · westernizes · homogenizes · acculturates
decolonization, decolonize, decolonized, decolonizing, decolonizations