Creating Constitutive Solidarity in Seattle: Praxis between the Duwamish Tribe and the Real Rent Duwamish Movement

Abstract

ABSTRACT Solidarity is valuable praxis in this unequal world. The Real Rent Duwamish movement stands in solidarity with the federally unrecognized Duwamish Tribe. Real Rent Duwamish asks people who live in the Seattle area to pay rent as a way to redistribute resources and recognize continuous colonization. As a white European who sought to stand in solidarity, I wanted to learn about such praxis. I approached it through the intertwined concepts of transformative recognition and redistribution. Through research with the Real Rent Duwamish, I identified the praxis pertaining to each concept and the interconnections between them. Analyzing secondary sources, I will show that redistribution without recognition does not hold a transformative potential. Building on the transformative recognition/redistribution, I will show how the Duwamish Tribe and the Real Rent Duwamish movement partake in constitutive solidarity. Solidarity praxis, thus, has the potential to be constitutive and foster long-term solidarity while allowing for collective and separate development of both groups and transfer of responsibilities without neglecting the underlying solidarity mechanisms.