Inspired by the article: Decolonization is not a metaphor by Eve Tuck, K. Wayne Yang

Playing Indian and the erasure of Indigenous peoples

Playing Palestinians and the erasure of their land

I would like to use the concept “playing Palestinian” as a parallel concept to other Indigenous peoples who have been displaced from their lands and whose identities and histories are marginalized or erased.

I would like to compare Palestinian rights with the patent concept.

A patent is a legal document that grants exclusive rights to an inventor for an invention, providing them with the sole authority to produce, use, and sell the invention. Patents are primarily concerned with intellectual property protection that allows inventors to profit from their creations.

Palestinians have inhabited the land for centuries, they have a language, culture, traditions, symbols, and religion. International law grants the right of Palestinians to self-determination, and the right to determine their political status and pursue economic, social, and cultural development.

Both Palestinian and patent concepts work on attaining rights and ownership, one to the land and the other to the name and profit. Both have legal rights to ownership.

Questions rise…

Where is the international law and the human rights movement in this complete disorder?

Why are they allowing settlers to appropriate their deceiving selves without proper authorization and steal the land and the Palestinian culture, symbols, and narratives?

Why do patents protect the right to ownership but not the patent’s rights to own the land? Should Palestinians demand a patent for the rights of land and identity?

Imitation goes hand in hand with colonization

Let’s consider a hypothetical scenario involving the imitation of an inventor’s product and the colonization of an idea. For example, I have invented a product and invested a significant amount of time, resources, and expertise into developing my invention. Unfortunately, somebody else in the market finds my product profitable and decides to replicate it despite securing a patent that can protect my product or idea without my consent. The replicator has exercised economic and cultural dominance over my idea, reinforcing existing power imbalances in the innovation.

Questions rise…

How would I feel? Where are my rights? Did the replicator colonize my idea? How can I decolonize my right of ownership?

Let’s consider a factual scenario about a Palestinian father and mother who have built a house, and created a history of family, culture, education, language, religion, tradition, and symbols. The Palestinian house grew bigger with a bigger family. They all invested a significant amount of money, and energy, and put all their hearts into their home. One day, a settler passes by their home and without further notice or consent, kicks all the family out of their house and decides to live in it. The occupier has steel not only their land, but their food, their music, their folklore… and practiced moving to innocence.

Questions rise…

How would the Palestinian family feel? Where are their rights to live peacefully on their land? How can they decolonize the settler’s occupation?

Decolonizing or Patenting Rights to Palestinians

Through education, historical amnesia will be cured, and settlers’ narratives will not become knowledge. Investing in art practices that celebrate the innovations of the indigenous Palestinians.

Education about the Palestinian concept “Love for land” teaches future generations about historical roots, cultural identity, spiritual connections to nature, and resistance.

We can decolonize Palestinian land by creating a conscious space in our minds, leaving the settler’s space to extinction.

Even though the replicator can steal the idea, it can’t replicate the exact original idea.

Even though the colonizer can occupy Palestine, it can’t colonize their hearts and their love for their land.