Temporal (de)colonization and reimagining our relationship with time

Have you ever wondered how our relationship with time shapes the way we live, work, and connect with others? From the schedules that structure our days to the ways we prioritize productivity over rest, our understanding of time has been deeply influenced by colonial systems. But what if we could challenge that? What if we could reclaim time as a tool for balance, connection, and sustainability?

At Future Ancestors Services, we’re committed to doing just that. We prioritize a decolonized experience of time in all that we do, from how we collaborate with clients to how we shape our own workspaces. Our founder, Larissa Crawford, coined the term temporal (de)colonization in the following ways to describe this effort: an active process of reclaiming diverse, culturally specific understandings of time that have been marginalized or erased by colonial systems.

Learn more about what we mean when we say temporal (de)colonization in the Refinery29 interview our Founder did, Time Is A Colonial Construct — Here’s How I Learned To Reclaim Mine.

Understanding Temporal Colonization

Temporal Colonization refers to the historical and contemporary processes, intentions, and consequences of imposed colonial relationships to time.

Temporal colonization often manifests in the enforcement of linear, industrial timeframes over cyclical or relational concepts of time, leading to the marginalization of non-colonial temporalities and the disconnection of communities from their ancestral rhythms and practices.

This form of colonization affects personal and cultural relationships to time, dictating how societies organize daily life, prioritize productivity, and perceive the past, present, and future.

Temporal Colonization as a Justification for Settler-Colonialism

Time, something we often take for granted, has historically been used as an effective tool of power and control. Giordano Nanni, in his article The Colonization of Time: Ritual, Routine, and Resistance in the 19th-Century Cape Colony and Victoria, offers a fascinating and thorough analysis of how colonial powers weaponized time to dominate and reshape societies.

By the 19th century, British society had deeply connected the concepts of “civilization” and “true religion” with the precise measurement and profitable use of time. But here’s the key: this wasn’t some universal truth about how humans relate to time. Instead, it was a cultural construct, born out of an industrial-capitalist and Christian worldview.

In their colonies, British powers portrayed Indigenous societies as “timeless,” claiming they lacked the regularity, order, and uniformity of Western time systems. This narrative wasn’t just about condescension, it was a calculated strategy to justify settler-colonial land theft and control. By labeling Indigenous temporalities as “irregular” or “out of time,” colonial powers argued that these societies were culturally deficient and needed “reform.”

And what did reform look like? It meant coercively imposing British middle-class rituals and routines, often framed as part of Christianization or “civilizing” missions. But this wasn’t just about reshaping calendars, it was about reshaping lives.

The Practical Impacts of Temporal Colonization

So, how did this play out in practice? Here are some stark examples:

• The imposition of the Gregorian calendar standardized dates and it erased Indigenous and local timekeeping systems worldwide. In Canada, seasonal and lunar-based timekeeping systems, which were deeply tied to ecological and ceremonial practices, were displaced. This severed communities from ancestral knowledge and ecological rhythms, replacing them with a foreign system of time that prioritized colonial order.
  

• In residential schools in what is currently Canada, Indigenous children were subjected to rigid, clock-based schedules that aligned with colonial notions of time. This structuring was about discipline and it was a deliberate attempt to disconnect them from cultural rhythms and teachings. Productivity, control, and compliance were prioritized over relational and cyclical understandings of time, alienating children from their ancestral temporalities.
  

• Even before global colonial expansion, Britain’s own history demonstrated temporal colonization. The Enclosure Acts replaced communal, cyclical land-use practices in England with industrialized schedules designed for productivity and profit. This framework was later exported to colonized regions, suppressing traditional land use and temporalities to serve colonial economic interests.
  

Temporal Colonization Today

You might be thinking, “That was all in the past, right?” But the truth is, the legacies of temporal colonization are alive and well. They persist in many of our societal norms and rhythms today, often in ways we don’t even question.

• Take the 9-to-5 workday. It’s a relic of industrial time structures that prioritize linear productivity over rest or relationality. For workers whose cultural or familial temporalities require flexibility, this model can be exclusionary and inequitable, devaluing diverse ways of engaging with time.

  
  

• Modern workplaces often thrive on urgency, with tight deadlines and short-term goals taking precedence. This approach leaves little room for cultural or cyclical rhythms, such as Indigenous principles like the Seven Generations Principle, which considers the long-term impact of decisions on future generations.
  

• The synchronization of global time zones was designed to optimize capitalist trade, but it’s created a 24-hour economy that prioritizes profits over people. Workers, particularly in the gig and service industries, are often required to work fragmented and irregular schedules, making time a tool of exploitation rather than a shared resource for well-being.

These examples highlight how deeply ingrained colonial frameworks of time are in our lives. They show us how time, as we experience it today, often prioritizes control, productivity, and profit over rest, connection, and sustainability.

What if time could be relational, centered on community, well-being, and long-term thinking? That’s the work ahead of us, and it starts with questioning the systems we take for granted.

Defining Temporal Decolonization

Temporal Decolonization is the active process of unpacking, unlearning, and challenging the influences of temporal colonization in our minds, societies, cultures, and spaces.

It involves reclaiming and revaluing diverse, Indigenous, and culturally specific understandings of time that have been marginalized or suppressed by colonialism.

Temporal decolonization seeks to restore and integrate cyclical, relational, and holistic concepts of time into personal and collective practices, allowing individuals and communities to reconnect with ancestral rhythms, sustainable ways of living, and more balanced relationships with the past, present, and future.

But what does this look like in action? Let’s explore some examples of how temporal decolonization is taking shape in both historical and contemporary contexts.

Examples of Temporal Decolonization

To truly understand what temporal decolonization looks like, it helps to see how these ideas have been put into practice, both historically and today. Across time and place, individuals and communities have found ways to resist colonial time systems and reclaim temporalities rooted in their cultures, values, and environments. Here are some powerful examples:

• Indigenous communities are reclaiming ceremonial calendars tied to ecological and spiritual rhythms. For example, the Cree Nation’s 13-moon cycle guides ceremonies and sustainable land stewardship, resisting colonial time systems.
  

• Post-colonial nations in Africa and Asia have integrated Indigenous temporalities into curricula, reclaiming relational understandings of time central to cultural identity.
  

• Indigenous Peoples maintained traditional cycles of migration, planting, and ceremonies, defying colonial prohibitions and preserving ancestral timekeeping practices.

Today, the work of temporal decolonization continues in workplaces, educational spaces, and community programs. These examples show how individuals and organizations are pushing back against rigid, industrial time structures in favor of more flexible and relational approaches:

• Organizations adopting flexible or remote work policies challenge the rigidity of industrial time systems, creating space for culturally diverse temporalities.
  

• The push for shorter workweeks aligns with cyclical and relational understandings of time, prioritizing rest, sustainability, and relational well-being.
  

• Indigenous-led education programs emphasize cyclical, land-based practices, teaching participants to align their activities with natural rhythms and seasonal changes.

  
  

Temporal decolonization is about more than just tweaking our schedules because it requires a mindset shift. It asks us to rethink the systems we’ve inherited and imagine alternatives that honour cultural diversity, relational well-being, and sustainability. Whether through ceremonial calendars or flexible work policies, every step we take toward reclaiming time helps us build a more balanced and connected world.

It’s not about rejecting all forms of structure but about creating ones that reflect who we are, where we’ve come from, and where we want to go. What would it look like for you to embrace a decolonized relationship with time? Maybe it’s slowing down, aligning with natural cycles, or making space for community. Whatever it is, the journey starts with the simple act of asking, “How can I reimagine my time?”

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