An indigenous feminist’s take on the ontological turn ontology – just another word for colonialism

Summary

Métis anthropologist Zoe Todd watched Bruno Latour lecture on a sentient climate without once crediting the Indigenous thinkers who’d known it “for millennia”. The ‘Ontological Turn’, she argues, is “spinning itself on the backs of non-european thinkers”, mining ideas that are, for Indigenous peoples, legal orders tied to sovereignty. Her remedy: “broaden the spectrum of who you cite”.

Rationale

Citation is a start: we credit vā to Samoa and Albert Wendt. Todd asks more, since ideas tied to sovereignty aren’t ours to borrow freely.