Indigenous Reconciliation Research Articles

Indigenous peoples in carbon pricing policymaking

The article contributes new thinking on the exclusion and inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in carbon pricing policymaking. Using a Canadian case to draw broader lessons for other countries and make a conceptual contribution, we ask and answer five questions: (1) who is excluded; (2) why does exclusion happen; (3) how does exclusion happen; (4) what does exclusion cause; and (5) how could policymakers enhance inclusion? To inform and answer these questions, we construct a decolonial theoretical framework and use it to guide qualitative analysis and doctrinal legal analysis of original data, including 34 semi-structured interviews and few court decisions, to enhance thinking on exclusion and how to enhance inclusion in carbon pricing policymaking. The thesis is that Indigenous Peoples are externally and internally excluded because of legal and practical problems in policymaking, and this impacts legitimacy, transparency, justice, policy effectiveness and indigenous reconciliation, and should be mitigated by enhancing transparency measures, prioritizing the value of legitimacy over cost efficiency, and, overall, transformationally rethinking policymaking processes. Altogether, our theory-grounded empirical sociolegal study demonstrates key concepts for thinking about Indigenous inclusion and exclusion, extending the extant public participation literature as applicable to climate, natural resource, and environmental law and governance, and other relevant legal and social science fields.

Harnessing food system equity from the ground up: shifting co-governance practices in the funding of food security responses during the pandemic crisis in Toronto, Canada

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic was a disrupting force that magnified social inequities and service gaps in underserved urban communities. It was also a “window of opportunity” for the Black Lives Matter movement and Indigenous reconciliation synergies to spur calls to action for more open and inclusive dialog regarding community food security. Increasingly, community-based organizations (CBOs) that have not been traditionally food-focused are becoming more involved in food security responses. These factors have offered space to revisit antiquated and exclusionary practices within resource allocation and decision-making processes that reinforce systems of oppression within the food system. We explore the interconnection between CBOs, municipal actors, and funders in Toronto and draw upon the concept of co-governance to unpack their evolving relationships and influence on equity-focused change in policies and practices. Based on an analysis of interviews (n = 48), this paper articulates that a number of realized progressive, yet incremental, changes have been made, including changes to policies and internal practices and targeted support for Black and Indigenous communities. However, ultimately, a transfer of resources and influence is required in order to achieve the broader goal of harnessing food system equity.

A negotiated sovereignty: Surfacing Indigenous geopolitics within settler colonialism

This paper examines Indigeneity within the less-explored settler colonial context of Taiwan in the face of China’s increasing irredentism. I review two processes of Indigenous reconciliation developing in Taiwan and frame them as Indigenous geopolitics – the survey and legislation of traditional territory and the instrumentalization of Indigeneity to assert the island’s autonomy from China. I highlight that Indigenous political struggles that have otherwise often been contained within a stable conception of the settler nation-state can have outward facing effects and suggest that Indigenous rights won can be seen within a spectrum of Indigenous sovereignty in varying degrees, from mere recognition in history books to the extent of making representations to other states. Noting the highly visible process of reconciliation that has thus far yielded limited legislative outcomes in Taiwan, I propose that Indigenous geopolitics should not be considered independent of or in opposition to the settler state. Rather, Indigenous representatives necessarily negotiate their politics within the framework of the settler state in an unequal relationship that nonetheless hold benefits for both sides.

Insights from First Nations, Government and Industry Leaders on Criteria for Successful Impact Benefit Agreements.

Over the past decade, British Columbia, Canada's westernmost province, has begun developing liquified natural gas (LNG) mega projects that can transport Canadian resources to foreign markets across the Pacific region. These projects have gained significant profile due to high-level debates over their environmental, social and economic impacts. While LNG projects are required to undergo environmental impact assessment procedures, there is growing recognition of the need to ensure that positive social, economic and environmental impacts are fairly distributed to local communities. Similar to other extractive industries, many corporations leading the development of these projects engage in negotiations over so-called "impact benefit agreements (IBAs)"-legal agreements between a corporation, a government and/or a community that details how projects can benefit the local community and on what timeline so as to build social license to operate and investor confidence. This contribution details the findings of a qualitative study highlighting the perspectives of First Nations, provincial and federal government, and industry leaders to examine what makes an IBA successful and from whose perspective. The paper provides an introduction to IBA structures and processes, a brief review of the legal context, a qualitative methodology co-developed between academic researchers and Indigenous community leaders, and describes key criteria to inform future successful IBA agreements that create equitable multi-party benefits in an era of Indigenous reconciliation.

From the Three Rs to the “Culture Wars”? How Australians Perceive Local Government Action on Climate Change, Indigenous Reconciliation, and LGBTQIA + Advocacy

Australian local government has rarely been the domain where entrenched and polarising cultural disputes play out, and is instead most often associated with the “3Rs”: roads, rates, and rubbish. However, in recent years, a growing number of local councils from across Australia have taken exceptional and unprecedented steps, sometimes in defiance of state and federal governments, to address some of the country's most ideologically contentious issues. Drawing on long-established American urban politics literature on local politics and culture war conflicts, this research note offers an empirical account of the public understandings and perceptions of local government roles in the realm of contentious politics, an area that has not yet been addressed in the emerging Australian literature. Our findings from a representative nation-wide survey (n = 1,350) indicate that a majority of Australians believe that local governments should be involved in matters relating to climate change, Indigenous reconciliation, and LGBTQIA + advocacy.

A narrative inquiry into non-Indigenous medical educators and leaders participation in reconcilatory work.

Globally, medical schools are operationalising policies and programming to address Indigenous health inequities. Although progress has been made, challenges persist. In Canada, where this research is conducted, Indigenous representation within medical schools remains low, leaving a small number of Indigenous advocates leading unprecedented levels of equity-related work, often with insufficient resources. The change needed within medical education cannot fall solely on the shoulders of Indigenous Peoples; non-Indigenous Peoples must also be involved. This work aims to better understand the pathways of those engaged in this work, with careful consideration given to the facilitators and barriers to ongoing engagement. Data collection and analysis were informed by narrative inquiry, a methodology that relies on storytelling to uncover nuance and prompt reflection. In this paper, we focus on interview data collected from Canadian non-Indigenous medical educators and leaders (n = 10). Participants represented different career stages, (early to late career) and occupied a mix of clinical, administrative and education roles. Although each participant's entry into reconciliatory work was unique, we identified common drivers actuating their engagement. Oftentimes their participation was tied to administrative work or propelled by experiences within their roles that forced them to confront the systemic inequalities borne by Indigenous Peoples in both academic and healthcare settings. Some admitted to struggling with understanding their appropriate role in Indigenous reconciliation; their participation often proceeded without firm support. Medical schools have an obligation to ensure their faculty, including non-Indigenous Peoples, are equipped to fulfil social accountability mandates regarding Indigenous health. Our findings generate a better understanding of the tensions inherent in this equity work. We urge others to reflect on their role in Indigenous reconciliation, or else medical schools risk generating a false sense of individual and institutional progress.

Indigenous Reconciliation and Right Relations in a Polarized Land

Indigenous Reconciliation and Right Relations in a Polarized Land

Decolonizing environmentalism: Addressing ecological and Indigenous colonization through arts-based communication

This article seeks to advance connecting the two societal priorities of environmental protection and what has been called ‘Indigenous reconciliation’ through arts-based communication (and particularly arts-based research), to help engage and inspire people towards sustaining a healthy planet and a just society. Through lenses of social justice, decolonizing critique and holistic environmental ideologies, this work explores theoretical and practical, real-world intersections of environmentalist, Indigenous and arts-based imperatives and ways of knowing. The goal is twofold: first, to seek to engage readers in viewing the colonization of the planet and its First Peoples as intimately related, and ultimately, to bring together diverse literatures to suggest ideas, language and a model to foster communication aimed at redressing both of those colonialist evils. To acknowledge this intersection of environmental and Indigenous approaches in arts-based settings, the term ‘environmental conciliation’ is proposed and defined as ‘environmental protection in ways that acknowledge, address, and aim to redress imbalances in power among Indigenous people and non-Indigenous settlers honestly, respectfully, openly, creatively and positively.

Local and Global: An Analogical Approach to God, Neighbor, and Indigenous Reconciliation in Pope Francis

This paper proposes a way of navigating the tension between the local and global in Fratelli tutti. The author argues that the encyclical exemplifies and develops an analogical approach for authentic encounter. The analogical approach to God and its use of language emphasize a tensive space between the known and unknown, which the author transposes to human encounter. The encyclical grounds and develops this transposed analogical approach through emphasis on cultural diversity, with a bifocal affirmation of difference and desire for relationship. Francis’s attention to Indigenous peoples grounds attention to the local as disposing toward a global outlook in care for the natural world. Finally, the author applies this approach to reflection on reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and the Church in Canada. Reflection on language is thereby put to the work of engaging the tensive and morally complex space between truth and reconciliation—namely, the space of encount er where healing is ongoing.

St. Thomas More College

As a Catholic college federated with the University of Saskatchewan, St. Thomas More College (STM) benefits from the arrangements negotiated at its founding by the Basilian Fathers. When the Basilians withdrew from STM in 2013, the College entered a new relationship with its diocesan bishop, but continues to steward the educational culture created by its founders. Now under lay leadership and with an increasingly diverse community, STM faces the dual challenge of renewing its Catholic identity and remaining a sustainable liberal arts college. In its current College Plan, it lays out a strategy for doing both while also engaging with the national work of Indigenous reconciliation.

27 EDI Practices Amongst Academic Leaders at a Tertiary Paediatric Centre

Abstract Background Our university’s strategic approach to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) includes institutional capacity and commitment. Embedded within this pillar is the establishment of “systems, structures and policies that sustain EDI commitments through leadership, governance and accountability”. 1.Objectives: To ascertain baseline EDI practices of Division Leaders and the Department Executive Team 2.To identify prioritized training/learning needs early in the tenure of the inaugural Associate Chair, EDI Design/Methods An anonymized, 10 question electronic survey was distributed to division leads and executive team members with the Department of Paediatrics. Results An electronic survey was distributed to 22 people and 14 responded (64% response rate). Only 21% of leaders included a land acknowledgement at the beginning of their division, portfolio, or committee meetings. Reasons for not doing so included: • Meetings are informal or have few people • Worried about tokenism/checking a box • Had not thought to do so 29% of leaders have a standing “EDI matters” agenda item for their division, portfolio, or committee meetings. Reasons for not doing so included: • Attempting to incorporate EDI principles into work • Addressing EDI items as they occur • Unsure how to engage in meaningful action • Had not thought to do so The majority of leaders who responded, 79%, completed bias education and/or training. All the respondents want more, or specific, EDI training for their division(s) or portfolio(s). Racism was identified as the #1 equity issue urgently impacting divisions or teams. Other priority areas identified included: 2SLGBTQIA+, gender equity, Indigenous reconciliation, and employment bias. Other themes that were raised included: • Equitable healthcare access • Representation at decision-making tables • Gender bias impact on career and work opportunities • Bias in the workplace • Becoming an antiracist organization • Engaging everyone in antiracist work • Systemically embedding EDI principles • Equitable opportunities and support for all employees That 36% of department leaders did not respond to our brief EDI survey may need to be explored further. Conclusion Most leaders are not routinely doing land acknowledgments or incorporating EDI into agendas as a standing item. All expressed a desire for more EDI training. Survey responses informed priorities for the first term of the Inaugural Associate Chair, EDI. An EDI-focused Grand Rounds Series and an EDI SharePoint site were created. Leaders are encouraged to make EDI awareness integral to daily tasks from initial recruitment. Our Anti-Racism Coalition’s version of the Power Flower (Figure 1) was shared to enhance awareness of various power differentials at play.

Cultural Awareness Through Music Study: Fostering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Higher Education Vocal Music Curriculum

The educational research study explored ways to bring history into musical art fostering a deeper attentiveness to diversity, equity, and inclusivity in higher education music studies in North America. It explored the historic narrative of the Indigenous Beothuk people of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada through music. The study focused on the opera Shanawdithit by Canadian composer Dean Burry, and Indigenous Canadian librettist, Yvette Nolan as an example of how music curriculum can be reconsidered and reimagined. The anthropological and archeological history of the Indigenous Beothuk people - as was taught in Canadian history was filtered through a Western European lens. The musical work reconceptualized the story of Shanawdithit - considered the last of the Beothuk people in Newfoundland and was told from an Indigenous perspective. As well, other notable works by Canadian Indigenous will be presented in this study. As both Canada and the United States explore Indigenous reconciliation, bringing works of underrepresented composers to higher education music study and performance offers a means to foster DEI and more cultural awareness in North American arts curriculum.

Pathways for Healthcare Organizations to Strengthen Indigenous Nurse Retention.

Call to Action #92 encourages corporations to apply the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as an organizational framework and provides concrete strategies to guide policy and operational activities to increase Indigenous participation in the economy (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada 2015b; UN 2007). Call to Action #92 and the UNDRIP are explored to provide strategies to decolonize mainstream healthcare organizations and promote workplace structures that assist Indigenous nurses in thriving in the work setting. The recommendations in this synthesis paper can be used by healthcare organizations to support Indigenous reconciliation in Canada.

Indigenous directorship pathways through transformative leadership: a content analysis of reconciliation action plans (RAPs)

PurposeThis paper aims to explore how corporate Australia engages in reconciliation through recognizing and providing pathways for Indigenous Australians' corporate leadership aspirations.Design/methodology/approachThe research design is informed by the prior literature on pathways by minority groups to corporate leadership through the theoretical lens of transformational leadership. The investigation is conducted using textual analysis of reconciliation action plans (RAPs), a contemporary and voluntary practice adopted by Australian listed companies to disclose their commitment to national reconciliation. RAPs are publicly available from the official websites of listed companies.FindingsThe analysis of contemporary RAPs highlights organizational initiatives to support Indigenous Australians related to corporate and community leadership. Since the authors’ focus is the former, corporate leadership initiatives are further analyzed. Two initiatives for Indigenous Australians to pursue corporate leadership positions are emerging future leaders' programs and mentoring programs. This is the extent to which the authors observe Australian firms' transformational leadership. While some firms have implemented these initiatives with specific targets, other firms do not have specific initiatives or targets. The paper also conducts longitudinal analysis into the transformational leaders' past RAPs and triangulates to other evidence of reconciliation commitment such as the Uluru Statement from the Heart.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper contributes new insights to the research area of board cultural diversity, specifically to the limited literature on Indigenous reconciliation. It provides insights into firms and policymakers to address the ongoing issue of the underrepresentation of Indigenous Australians in corporate leadership. The sample of firms comprises Australian listed firms that have adopted higher-order RAPs, which restricts the generalizability of the findings to other sectors.Originality/valueThis paper explores the under researched phenomenon of Indigenous people's pathways to corporate leadership. The research design is informed by transformational leadership theory through considering institutional actions for reconciliation. This research provides evidence of the extent to which corporate Australia has taken action on the issue of the under-representation of Australian Indigenous people in corporate leadership.

Preparing Engineering Students for their Professional Obligations for Meaningful Engagement with Indigenous Communities in Canada

Following the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other guiding documents, engineering schools in Canada have begun the work of Indigenous reconciliation by helping students develop competencies relevant to engineering study, research, and practice. In our School, a curricular project has been implemented in the undergraduate program: a key element is the Indigenous Community Consultation Project (ICCP) delivered through a required communication course. Through a case study approach, students learn intercultural communication skills in the specific context of preparing to work with Indigenous communities in Canada. In developing and delivering the ICCP, course instructors are also empowered to take part in relevant professional development initiatives and to grow their pedagogical practices. We are now studying the impact of the ICCP on students’ learning and plan to share results in future publications.

Educating the Electorate

Social Studies education is politicized, powerful, and highly contentious. Scholars have long debated about the content of Social Studies curricula, interest groups have historically tried to influence its material, and in recent years headlines have highlighted controversial subjects like Critical Race Theory and Indigenous reconciliation. This paper argues that it is impossible to teach a neutral Social Studies curriculum, and so it is essential that educators are mindful of the impact their content will have on young minds and future citizens of their society. 
 
 This paper first breaks down Canadian Social Studies curricula into their two main components: history and citizenship. The paper then provides an examination of how various models of citizenship impact the way history is taught, and demonstrates the impact those models of citizenship have on how students feel about their society and the role they play within it. These models have implications for not only the content of classrooms but for the future of democracy itself.

Why New Zealand’s Indigenous reconciliation process has failed to empower Māori fishers: Distributional, procedural, and recognition-based injustices

How is it that the New Zealand government’s process for re-establishing Indigenous fishing rights has failed to deliver thriving Māori fisheries? This paper examines why, at Te Waihora, a coastal lake, and site of one of the nation’s longest running and best-funded state-Māori co-governance agreements, Māori fishers have been unable to use their rights to support their fishery. As of 2018, the lake’s culturally and ecologically significant eel population was no longer commercially viable, a decline fishers have attributed to rampant dairy industry expansion upstream. Drawing on environmental justice literatures, we deploy a multi-dimensional framework to identify factors shaping possibilities for justice in the wake of rights reconciliation, as experienced by Māori fishers, scientists, and leaders. We engage theories of political economic relations to interpret the implications of these experiences for environmental justice theory and politics. Ethnographic accounts demonstrate that the New Zealand government’s process for re-establishing Māori rights falls short of achieving distributional, procedural, and recognition-based dimensions of environmental justice, and that these effects are interlinked. In particular: (i) downstream fishers are placed to bear disproportionate costs of runoff from upstream land use change; (ii) Māori fishers have little influence over governance decisions that affect land use; and (iii) government claims, including that Māori should, “move beyond grievance mode,” obscure logics for resistance. We suggest that the government’s support for dairy industry expansion represents an attempt to mitigate crises of overaccumulation, characteristic of competitive markets. Unlike those who identify persistent injustice as a logic for turning away from the state, we argue that the recurring nature of these crises, and the role state organizations play in directing responses, indicates a rationale for continued engagement with state governing bodies to advance justice.

Canadian Constitution Needs to Be Amended for Canada to Fully Embrace Multiculturalism

Reform is needed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to remove Section 16 that recognizes French and English as the two official languages. This clause is problematic as bilingualism is not consistent with the goals of multiculturalism. I argue first that bilingualism violates Section 15, which guarantees formal and substantive equality, as it creates a cultural and linguistic hierarchy. Secondly, I argue how bilingualism violates Section 2, specifically the freedom to choose the language to express themselves. I counter-argue my position and state that even if Canada removes Section 16, it is not substantial to protect the fundamental rights of marginalized citizens living in Quebec as Quebec can utilize Section 33 to override the Court. I respond to this perspective and conclude that removing Section 16 remains necessary to equalize the judicial powers of provinces and for Canada to advance forward with Indigenous reconciliation.

Applied Research in Post-pandemic Canada

Although Canada’s immediate priority is finishing the fight against COVID-19, we must not lose sight of the challenges on the horizon. An aging population will require new approaches to and solutions for healthcare. Achieving net-zero emissions to fight climate change will impact every sector of the economy. Indigenous reconciliation requires an intentional effort and the resources to support it. Layered across these issues, technological disruption is rampant in an increasingly digital world. Meaningful progress to address these challenges must make use of capacity in every corner of the country. For the network of Canadian polytechnic institutions, this means looking within to see what we’re doing to address these challenges today and where we’re well positioned to do more. For governments both federal and provincial, it means recognizing pockets of activity that could be scaled for greater impact, particularly in areas of identified priority.

Undergraduate Nursing Students' Experience of Northern Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities

Undergraduate nursing programs are moving towards a service learning model in teaching nursing student cultural awareness. In this article, we discuss the nursing student experience in a university elective which immerses students in rural and remote Indigenous communities resulting in cultural consciousness. This service learning experience that students encountered promoted growth in nursing praxis, and fostered positive curriculum growth and community partnerships between the College and the Indigenous communities in which they visited. Students gained cultural consciousness and increased awareness, which is beneficial in their future nursing careers as they grow into better culturally competent care providers. Also discussed is the history and background of these Indigenous communities, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the First Nations Principles of OCAP (ownership, control, access and possession). These topics are discussed in detail throughout the student experience as they respond to nurses’ professional standards, development of cultural competency and integrating calls to action in truth and reconciliation.