7 Pillars Collaborative is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation organized and operated to unite, educate, and collaborate with other grassroots organizations to better serve disenfranchised communities through decolonized partnership programming.

The purpose of our organization is to strengthen grass-roots work already being done and give agency to those directly impacted by that work. First, we share the principles of decolonization with our grass-roots community organizers. Next, we create space to build relationships between organizers so they can know and trust each other before going into action. Finally, we act as a hub to provide guidance and interconnectivity in creating partnership programs among organizations.

Principles of Decolonization

Prior to the arrival of Europeans to the Americas, Indigenous tribes already had commerce, economies, permanency, travel, stewardship, artistry, drama, ceremony, healthcare, justice, governance, and peacekeeping. They were not few, impoverished, uneducated, savage, or uncivilized. First Nations were environmentally sustainable and had been established for thousands of years.

The path to sustainability requires us to look at First Nations tribes and the foundations of their communities. The 7  teachings or pillars have been ingrained in every aspect of life by many First Nations tribes for millennia. These 7 teachings are the foundation for decolonization and the basis for all of our organizing, programs, and community partnerships.

What is Decolonization?

Decolonization is part of a global effort, but it looks different in the Americas. The colonization process has never ended, though it has been redefined as “progress.” The academic definition of decolonization requires giving up social and economic power or privilege that directly disempowers, appropriates, and erases others. However, comprehensive decolonization includes committing to building communities that work together to create a more sustainable and equitable future.

“Decolonization” is not a metaphor, yet it is a popular term among organizers, with little or no indigenous voices representing it. True decolonization cannot exist without indigenous wisdom or applying the principles that contributed to thriving indigenous communities. It also allows us to:

  • reconnect with the people and places we come from;

  • define our own identity in ways that are reflective of our own understanding of ourselves

  • speak the truth about our history of violence and heal our trauma

  • redefine the connections between human beings and all living things.

The 7 Pillars of Decolonization

The most effective way of overcoming the impact of colonization is to embrace the wisdom of our own cultural traditions and align our work with the cultural values that guided those traditions. We have connected the 7 principles of decolonization to the seven aspects of livelihood that are held under systematic oppression. The objective is to develop joint programs between organizers to dismantle these systems.

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