Canadian genocide of Indigenous peoples

Canadian genocide of Indigenous peoples
They Came for the Children
a publication by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
LocationCanada
TargetIndigenous peoples in Canada
Attack type
Genocide, ethnic cleansing, forced displacement, collective punishment, sexual abuse, starvation, forced conversion
AssailantsGovernment of Canada, Catholic Church, Anglican Church, United Church, and Presbyterian Church
Motive

Throughout the history of Canada, the Canadian government (its colonial predecessors and settlers) have been accused of what has variously been described as atrocities, crimes, ethnocide, and genocide, against the Indigenous peoples in Canada.[a][2][3][4] There is debate among scholars about the terms used and type of genocide that has occurred,[5][6][7] or if the term genocide even applies to Canada's experience.[8]

Canada is a settler-colonial nation whose original economy was based on the dispossession of Indigenous peoples using various justifications for its discriminatory practices.[9][10][11][12] The Canadian government implemented policies such as the Indian Act,[b] residential schools, health-care segregation, and displacement that attempted to assimilate Indigenous peoples into Euro-Canadian culture while asserting control over the land and its resources.[14][10]

A period of redress began with the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada by the Government of Canada in 2008.[15] This included recognition of cultural genocide,[16] settlement agreements,[15] and betterment of racial discrimination issues, such as addressing the plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women.[17]

  1. ^
    • "The Canadian Style". TERMIUM Plus. October 8, 2009. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
    • "4.11 Races, languages and peoples, 4.12". TERMIUM Plus. October 8, 2009. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
    • "Indigenous Peoples". University of Guelph. November 14, 2019. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
    • "14.12 Elimination of Racial and Ethnic Stereotyping, Identification of Groups". Translation Bureau. Public Works and Government Services Canada. 2017. Archived from the original on April 3, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
    • McKay, Celeste (April 2015). "Briefing Note on Terminology". University of Manitoba. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
    • Todorova, Miglena (2016). "Co-Created Learning: Decolonizing Journalism Education in Canada". Canadian Journal of Communication. 41 (4): 673–92. doi:10.22230/cjc.2016v41n4a2970.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference o997 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Woolford 2009, p. 81; Green 2023; MacDonald & Hudson 2012, pp. 430–431; Dhamoon 2016, p. 10
  4. ^ "Genocide and Indigenous Peoples in Canada". The Canadian Encyclopedia. November 2, 2020. Archived from the original on August 2, 2024.
  5. ^ Dhamoon 2016, pp. 14–15.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rubinstein was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ MacDonald 2015, pp. 411–413, 422–425.
  8. ^ Smith, Donald B.; Miller, J. R. (September 11, 2019). "No Genocide". Literary Review of Canada. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  9. ^ "Genocide and Indigenous Peoples in Canada". The Canadian Encyclopedia. June 6, 1944. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  10. ^ a b Richardson, Benjamin (2020). Richardson, Benjamin J. (ed.). From student strikes to the extinction rebellion: new protest movements shaping our future. Cheltenham, UK Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-80088-109-9. Canada is a settler colonial state, whose sovereignty and political economy is premised on the dispossession of Indigenous peoples and exploitation of their land base' (2015:44). Many of the most egregious genocidal...
  11. ^ Williams, Kimberly (2021). Stampede: Misogyny, White Supremacy and Settler Colonialism. Fernwood Publishing. ISBN 9781773632179. Canada is a settler colonial state, it is also what hooks (Jhally 1997) calls a white supremacist capitalist heteropatriarchy...
  12. ^ Lightfoot et al. 2021, pp. 134–135.
  13. ^ a b "Terminology Guide Research on Aboriginal Heritage" (PDF). library and Archives Canada - University of British Columbia. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 14, 2024.
  14. ^ "Indigenous Peoples and Government Policy in Canada". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Jun 6, 1944. Retrieved Nov 20, 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action" (PDF). National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. 2015. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 15, 2015.
  16. ^ "Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada" (PDF). National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. May 31, 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 6, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  17. ^ "Principles respecting the Government of Canada's relationship with Indigenous peoples". Ministère de la Justice. July 14, 2017. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023.


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