For some Aboriginal people, healing is a relatively new word that seems to have emerged and taken on a life of its own only after the 1990 Mohawk Crisis and the ensuing Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP, 1996). In spite of the massive 4000-page RCAP report, some mainstream authorities (Brasfield, 2001) still believe that the meaning of Aboriginal healing has not been fully explained. In this study, an attempt will be made to widen the meaning of Aboriginal healing by examining ancient Haudenosaunee (People of the Longhouse) philosophy, historical cultural upheaval, and narratives from First Nations survivors of Indian residential schools and a Holocaust survivor. The results have shown a connection between Aboriginal healing and Canadian society. Healing can only occur if the wound is not continuously reopened such as when long-standing land claims remain unsettled, Indigenous language and culture programs are neglected, and a People are ignored.

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This study challenges a popular Canadian national myth that characterizes Settlers as "benevolent" peacemakers - not perpetrators of violence in our relations with Indigenous peoples. I trace this foundational myth from its historical roots in 19th century treatymaking to a contemporary discourse of reconciliation that purports to be transformative, but simply perpetuates colonial relations. I argue that Settler violence against Indigenous peoples is woven into the fabric of Canada's national history in an unbroken thread from past to present that we must "unsettle" and "restory." making substantive space for Indigenous history: counternarratives of diplomacy, law and peacemaking practices, on transformative pathways to decolonizing Canada. This requires a better understanding of what role myth, ritual and history play in perpetuating or transforming Indigenous-Settler conflict. I propose a pedagogical strategy for "unsettling the Settler within" to explore the unsettling, potentially decolonizing and transformative power of testimony in public acts of restitution, apology. truth-telling and remembrance; and restorying- the making of space for Indigenous history. diplomacy. law, and peacemaking practices enacted in story, ceremony and ritual. I suggest that Settlers must confront our real identity as perpetrators - a deeply unsettling task. Dislodging the false premise of the benevolent peacemaker myth requires a paradigm shift that moves Settlers from a culture of denial that is the hallmark of perpetrators of violence towards an ethics of recognition that guides our attempts to become authentic peacemakers and Indigenous allies. The study mirrors this process. linking theory to my own critical. reflective practice. I critique reconciliation discourse in a case study of Canada's approach to settling Indian residential school claims. I describe my personal experience in an apology feast held for Gitxsan residential school survivors as an example of unsettling the Settler within and restorying that, despite its specificity, has broader applicability for designing truth-telling and reconciliation processes.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2000. / Adviser: Elizabeth Ammons. Submitted to the Dept. of English. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 269-282). Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;

Thesis, PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Reconciliation attempts have occurred world-wide, i.e., Australia and South Africa. Recently, Canada has initiated a reconciliation process with its First Nations people for the historical injustices and their experience with residential schools. The purpose of this study was to explore the current Canadian reconciliation process and to determine whether it was considered by First Nations participants as an effective approach to relationship renewal. This study was completed with the White River First Nations in the Yukon Territory. Using an exploratory descriptive design as a qualitative approach, with person-centered interviewing, eight participants were interviewed twice. The data revealed that the current reconciliation process was driven by political expediency rather than anchored by a desire to improve relationships. The findings suggest that Canada’s reconciliation model is unsuitable and may be at risk for failure in the near future. Finally, participants revealed that they wanted more healing as a step towards reconciliation. / vii, 117 leaves ; 29 cm

This qualitative study informs the literature by bringing two perspectives together: the trauma of residential school abuse and the transpersonal viewpoint of healing. A phenomenological hermeneutic approach explored lived experiences of residential school survivors and their families. Transpersonal psychology was introduced as the focus for a new healing paradigm. The research questions ask, “What has been the lived experience of the trauma of residential school abuse” and “How are traditional and non-traditional healing practices mutually applied in the recovery process by individuals who are impacted by the residential school experience”? Five First Nations co-researchers were interviewed, the data was analyzed, coded, and a thematic analysis was undertaken from which six themes emerged. The results of this study may go on to employ this new healing paradigm to help First Nations people gain spiritual wholeness. Finally, a description and summary of research findings, limitations and implications for counselling were discussed. / x, 193 leaves ; 29 cm. --

On 11 June 2008 the Government of Canada delivered an official apology to former students of Indian residential schools for its participation in the schools’ creation and administration. The morally infused discourses of political apologies may at first seem to symbolize a progressive step towards a better and more egalitarian future. This thesis, however, will challenge and problematize such perspectives by presenting not only a critical analysis of the 2008 apology itself but also by contextualizing the apology’s narratives with the colonial framing strategies which have historically served to marginalize and dominate the Indigenous nations and peoples of Turtle Island. Through the critical exploration of the 2008 apology’s operability and political significance in Canada’s colonial context, this thesis intends to reveal both the message(s) that the apology got across to the Canadian general public and the forms of domination and political distraction that the apology’s seemingly moral and progressive narratives effectively belie.