#Landback, Forced Migration, and Praxes of Hospitality: What Performance Studies Can Learn from Indigenous Revolutionary Action

Dominika Laster

doi:10.33303/gpsv5n1-2a108

Authors

Dominika Laster University of New Mexico

Abstract

Building upon emergent theorisations and praxes of decolonisation and decoloniality, in this essay Laster undertakes the critical work of suturing diverse understandings and practices of these notions from a range of fields and contexts. She begins by examining the crucial distinction between (de)colonisation and (de)coloniality, before arguing that the complementarity of the two ultimately means that both need to be mobilised in the liberation of Native lands, Nations, and peoples. Next, she turns her attention to several key discussions that focus on questions of imperialism and decolonisation in the field of performance studies, tracing their trajectories, as well as exploring some areas of potential growth for the field. In the second half of the essay, Laster discusses instances of Indigenous decolonisation—from perspectives of creative, critical, and activist praxis—that relate to the issue of forced migration, with a particular focus on Indigenous practices of hospitality and its limits.

Author Biography

Dominika Laster, University of New Mexico

Dominika Laster is Associate Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of New Mexico. She holds a PhD in Performance Studies from New York University (2010). She is the “Concerning Books” Editor of TDR: The Drama Review and Co-Editor of European Stages. ‪‬‬‬‬‬ ‪

Laster is the curator of Decolonial Gestures: A Symposium on Indigenous Performance (2016) and Performance in the Peripheries (ongoing). She is the author of Grotowski’s Bridge Made of Memory: Embodied Memory, Witnessing and Transmission in the Grotowski Work (2016). She is the editor of Loose Screws: Nine New Plays from Poland (2015). Laster has also published articles in Performance Research, Slavic and Eastern European Performance, New Theatre Quarterly, and TDR.‬‬‬‬‬

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