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Something I learned recently that I find myself forgetting and needing to stay on top of is the harm of using language like “wild”, “unexplored”, “untamed” etc. when referring to land that is currently or was formally occupied by indigenous people.
The reason this language causes harm is because it implies that these people either never lived there, and/or that their knowledge of the land is less valuable/legit than knowledge gained by settlers/contemporary “explorers”. In other words they contribute to native erasure.
So while I mess up sometimes (using those words like that is engrained in our culture and a tough habit to break) I try to make an effort to reduce my harm whenever I can. Because language is powerful and why wouldn’t you want to help people feel valued, seen and respected?
Obviously that’s a bit of a rhetorical question on twitter and elsewhere. Clearly there’s loads of people who enjoy discriminating/harassing people in the name of their own entitlement to the system of privilege they were raised on. Humans are a strange animal.
ANYWAY. I guess I just wanted to share something I learned and encourage people to adopt and pass on changes to our language that help recognize and lift up the knowledge and histories of our indigenous peers.
