Troubling good intentions

Abstract

We are unequivocally in favor of much, much, more space opening up for Aboriginal peoples and Indigenous ways of knowing and being in academic (and myriad other) spaces. We are worried, however, about a current lack of published critical engagement with policies and practices that appear, superficially, to support inclusivity and diversity of Indigenous peoples in academic institutions. We argue that, principally because such policies are inherently designed to serve settler-colonial subjects and powers, many inclusivity and diversity policies instead leave fundamentally unchanged an ongoing colonial relationship with Indigenous peoples, their epistemologies, and their ontologies. Indeed, we contend that individual Aboriginal peoples are suffering at deeply embodied levels as universities and other institutions rush to demonstrate well-intended “decolonizing” agendas. Drawing from examples in British Columbia, this paper provides a critical intervention into a rapidly ascending, and deeply institutionalized, dominance of policies and practices that claim to promote and open spaces for Indigenous peoples and perspectives within academic institutions. We draw from critical race theorists, including Sara Ahmed, and in our conclusion offer suggestions that aim to destabilize and trouble the good intentions of neo-colonial policies.