Unsettling the Settler Within: Indian Residential Schools, Truth Telling, and Reconciliation in Canada

Regan calls on settler colonists to question histories that present a Canadian narrative of 'benevolent actors' with peaceful intentions.  These historical narratives and Canadian understandings of this history is predicated on the settler myth of 'benevolent paternalism.' The questioning of history requires self-reflection and seeing reconciliation outside of a monetary frame; financial compensation while important, is not a solution to the settler colonial ideologies and institutions which continue to uphold colonialism. Regan argues that one way to address ‘benevolent paternalism’ is to combine theory and praxis: engaging directly with counter narratives that unsettle the ‘selective forgetting,’ and the ‘peacemaker myth.’ Regan seeks to challenge the 'peacemaker' myth embedded within Canadian historical understanding.

Accordingly, Regan unpacks the underlying ideological bias and prejudice held by Government officials which has been internalized by Canadian settlers. Drawing from Robin Fisher, Sarah Carter and Arthur Ray, Frank Tough, and J.R. Miller, Regan shows how 'benevolent' colonialism underpinned westward expansion. As such, treaty making was regarded by settlers as peaceful and just, ie. 'Canadian' as opposed to the treatment of Indigenous peoples in the U.S. (warfare before treaty-making). 

Regan analyses the effectiveness of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Program, arguing that its failure was due to the ‘liberal neutrality model’ (tort law and monetary compensation). Regan poses that the ADRP is unable to address political and moral redress because it operates on the theory that historical and continued injustices can be wholly addressed by monetary compensation; it does not recognize colonialism at the structural and institutional level, nor recognizes that reconciliation and peace-building requires an ongoing dialogue between settler colonists/governments and Indigenous peoples. Relations must be addressed, and an understanding that past injustices cannot merely be financially atoned without any behavioural or structural changes. The ADRP operated on the negation of testimonials in favour of cost-effective approaches. Regan provides an overview of the ADRP’s policy-based history.

Excerpt from the Introduction, Page 11-12:

"How can we, as non-Indigenous people, unsettle ourselves to name and then transform the settler – the colonizer who lurks within – not just in words but by our actions, as we confront the history of colonization, violence, racism, and injustice that remains part of the IRS legacy today?[14] To me, this is the crux of the matter. I unravel the Canadian historical narrative and deconstruct the foundational myth of the benevolent peacemaker – the bedrock of settler identity – to understand how colonial forms of denial, guilt, and empathy act as barriers to transformative socio-political change. To my mind, Canadians are still on a misguided, obsessive, and mythical quest to assuage colonizer guilt by solving the Indian problem. In this way, we avoid looking too closely at ourselves and the collective responsibility we bear for the colonial status quo. The significant challenge that lies before us is to turn the mirror back upon ourselves and to answer the provocative question posed by historian Roger Epp regarding reconciliation in Canada: How do we solve the settler problem?[15]

Unsettling the Settler Within is based on the premise that how people learn about historical injustices is as important as learning truths about what happened. Within this context, I explore the pedagogical potential of truth-telling and reconciliation processes. I agree with transitional justice experts who argue that history education in the wake of systemic violence and deeply rooted identity-based conflict must focus not only on curricula reform but on pedagogical reform as an effective means of transforming divisive histories and identities, and shifting negative perceptions of marginalized groups.[16]....." (11-12)