Race, Ethnicity, Indigenous Peoples and Politics

L09(b) - Evaluating Reconciliation

Date: Jun 13 | Time: 08:30am to 10:00am | Location: 680 Sherbrooke St. West 1055

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Chadwick Cowie (University of Toronto Scarborough)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Daniel Sherwin (University of Toronto)

Progress? Tracking Settler Denial and Recognition of Colonial Genocide in Canada: Andrew Basso (Wilfrid Laurier University), Andrea Perrella (Wilfrid Laurier University)
Abstract: The Final Report of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission was able to create an authoritative account of Canada’s genocidal crimes against Indigenous peoples committed through the Indian Residential School (IRS) system. Combined, institutionalized genocide led to systemic intergenerational traumas. However, since the release of the TRC report, how far has Canadian society come to accept its past wrongs, and how much are Canadians prepared to move forward? This is an important question because Settlers occupy powerful and privileged positions in Canada’s settler colonial matrix. They can act as agents of change in the era of Reconciliation, or as obstacles. Using three years of survey data from 2021 to 2023, we explore the prevalence extent of genocide denial among Settlers in Canada. Separately, we also examine the prevalence of the recognition of genocide, since we believe Settlers must move beyond the denial of genocide for there to be any chance of change in Canada. The first move towards justice is not the rejection of denial, but the acceptance of recognition of past crimes and their contemporary implications – an emerging concept called “thin sympathy.”

Criminal Sentencing and the Preservation of the Canadian Colonial Superstructure: Hannah Rose (Wilfrid Laurier University)
Abstract: Although multiple levels of government in Canada have committed to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action, the mass incarceration of Indigenous peoples is an ever-worsening issue. With colonial legacies intertwined into the foundation of the Canadian criminal justice system, the subject of the over-representation of Indigenous peoples in the carceral system represents the surrounding obstacles of institutional racism and the unceasing colonial superstructure of Canada that inhibits Indigenous self-determination. This interdisciplinary paper approaches the Canadian criminal justice system from the perspectives of Foucault’s biopower and Mbembe’s necropolitics. Building on this theoretical framework, this paper examines criminal sentencing discrepancies between Indigenous and Settler populations before and after the release of the TRC’s Final Report. This study illuminates whether discrepancies exist and whether the TRC’s Calls to Action have been effective in minimizing the over-representation of Indigenous peoples in the carceral system. The central problem addressed in this study is whether criminal sentencing is a determinant of the Canadian colonial superstructure and if this inherent structure within Canada’s institutions will inhibit the achievement of the goals set out by the TRC’s calls to action.

Increasing Support for Reconciliation: Andreea I. Zota (Université de Montréal), Marco M. Aviña (Harvard University)
Abstract: Profound inequalities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals persist, suggesting settler colonialism shapes Canadian society to this day. Reconciliation requires that Canadians acknowledge how past harm continues to cause suffering today, which should in turn motivate support for reparative policies to redress these injustices. However, such a process can be challenging as it may draw threatened responses from members of the dominant group, perpetuating prejudice and hindering attitudinal change. We field a survey of 3000 non-Indigenous Canadians to assess whether providing information on how past colonial politics explain inequalities today can reduce negative attitudes toward Indigenous peoples and motivate support for reparative policy reforms. We assess two distinct strategies for overcoming these barriers: corrective information and perspective-getting narratives. While correction leads to factual updating, narratives can reduce identity threats and shift policy preferences. Combining both interventions results in increased recognition of ongoing inequalities and greater support for policy reforms. Neither strategy enhances the effectiveness of the other. Our results have theoretical and practical implications for the politics of reconciliation and reparations.