Aboriginal Education in Canada: A Postcolonial Analysis

Abstract

This paper provides theoretical insights into Aboriginal educational and social transformation in Canada from an historical perspective. For almost a century, “decolonization” has been the most effective, and yet most commonly deployed conceptual tool in the writings on Aboriginal education. As an alternative to the decolonization paradigms, this paper suggests that postcolonial theory provides a more comprehensive, yet flexible conceptual framework to the understanding of historical and genealogical intricacies of Aboriginal education in Canada. In the process, theoretical underpinnings, questions, and situations inspired by the experiences of comparative colonialisms (such as the non-settler colonialisms) are discussed in conjunction with Canada's Aboriginal education.