Mutual Aid as Decolonial Praxis: A Reflection on Practice and a Call to Action

Mutual aid is a practice of collective care that has been given increasing scholarly attention since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. However, the decolonial potential of mutual aid has still received limited recognition. Authored by grassroots activists, this paper will argue for the role of mutual aid in “unsettling” (Tuck and Yang, 2012) the material conditions of colonialism, and more broadly disrupting the power of the colonial carceral system. Here, members of our mutual aid affinity group speak to the key elements of mutual aid that can be harnessed for decolonial praxis. We engage with our experiences organising mutual aid via wealth redistribution for First Nations people across the continent of so-called “Australia”, Palestinians in Gaza, Sudanese and Congolese People experiencing imperial and colonial violence to illustrate the integral role of mutual aid in the struggle for decolonisation.