North American and Palestinian Colonization

I’ve been writing about learning to use Google’s NotebookLM research tool, which is unique because it allows you to load your sources of information into a project, and then ask questions solely about that information, giving you complete control of what the artificial intelligence bases its answers on.

These are the sources I have loaded into the Jeff Kisling Writings notebook project.

Sources used by the NotebookLM project “Jeff Kisling writings” which are some of the things I’ve written

I’ve been working on the Quaker Tent Solidarity concept, which is rooted in trying to understand and write about colonialism, both in Palestine, and the parallels to the colonization of Indigenous peoples when white settlers came to this land. (See the diagrams below).

The responses are written as “Kisling” in the third person, which sounds a bit awkward. One of the best things NotebookLM created from my source documents was a podcast which summarizes the whole Quaker Tent Solidarity idea.

Podcast discussing Quaker Tent Solidarity (Created by NotebookLM)

This podcast provides the very best discussion of the Quaker Tent Solidarity concept.

Drawing upon the sources, the most direct connection between the colonization of the US and the colonization of Palestine in Jeff Kisling’s work appears in the podcast about Quaker Tent Solidarity, which discusses a vision he had. In this vision, Kisling connects the image of an orange tent, which reminded him of his camping experiences during the First Nation-Farmer Climate Unity March, to the Palestinian families and children living in tents because their homes have been destroyed.

This connection highlights Kisling’s perception of a direct link between US support for Israel, including military aid, and the displacement and suffering of Palestinians. The tent, initially a symbol of resistance against the DAPL in defense of Indigenous land in the US, transforms into a symbol of loss and displacement for Palestinians facing similar struggles.

While other sources don’t explicitly draw a parallel between the historical colonization of the US and the ongoing situation in Palestine, they provide a broader context for understanding Kisling’s perspective on decolonization and solidarity:

#LANDBACK as a Framework for Understanding Dispossession: Kisling is deeply involved with and supportive of the #LANDBACK movement, which he defines as “the reclamation of everything stolen from the original Peoples, including Land, Language, Ceremony, Medicines, and Kinship” and a “rallying cry for dismantling white supremacy and the harms of capitalism“. The movement addresses the ongoing impacts of colonization in the US. This framework of understanding dispossession of land and the destruction of culture resonates with the Palestinian experience. While the sources don’t explicitly say Kisling applies the #LANDBACK framework to Palestine, his strong support for it in the US context suggests a likely alignment with struggles against land theft and cultural erasure elsewhere.
Mutual Aid as Resistance to Colonial Systems: Kisling views mutual aid as not only a way to meet immediate needs but also a decolonial practice that “discourages colonized ideas” and aims at “undoing the injustices of colonialism and imperialism”. He learns from Indigenous organizers that mutual aid can be a means of “replacing the state and destroying western civilization and any remnants of it for future generations“. This perspective frames mutual aid as a form of resistance against systems rooted in colonization, which could be applicable to understanding solidarity with Palestine as resistance against Israeli occupation and its underpinning colonial ideologies.
Quaker Values and Solidarity: Kisling’s Quaker faith, with its emphasis on justice, peace, and challenging oppressive structures, underpins his activism. His concern for Mother Earth and critique of systems like capitalism and colonialism as harmful are rooted in these values. This ethical framework likely informs his empathy for the Palestinian people and his willingness to connect their struggle to the struggles of Indigenous peoples in the US. The Quaker emphasis on “seeking inner guidance” and taking action for a just peace is evident in Kisling’s engagement with the Palestinian issue.
Opposition to US Foreign Policy: Kisling’s vision in the podcast directly critiques US support for Israel, seeing it as complicit in the destruction faced by Palestinians. This aligns with a broader concern within peace movements about US foreign policy and its impact on conflicts globally, often viewed through a lens of historical and ongoing imperialism and colonialism.

In summary, while the podcast provides the most direct link in Kisling’s thought between the colonization of Indigenous lands in the US and the situation in Palestine, his broader engagement with #LANDBACK as a movement against the ongoing effects of US colonialism, his understanding of mutual aid as a decolonial practice, and his Quaker-based commitment to justice and peace offer a framework for understanding his solidarity with Palestine as another context of struggle against colonization and oppression. He sees a shared experience of dispossession and a need for resistance against powerful, often US-backed, forces.