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Aboriginal Genocide in Canada and Achieving Transitional Justice

The indigenous peoples of Canada have been severely mistreated since the period of European colonization and the founding of the country up to the end of the last century, resulting in serious human rights disparity. Aboriginal leaders, some politicians and members of the public are calling past actions, genocide. Principally a philosophical thesis, this paper deals with the question of the Government of Canada recognizing that their historical treatment of the indigenous peoples of Canada was genocide and whether, in light of the facts that have come to view in the past twenty years, it is the just response from the government; which I contend would result in aiding the nation to heal and move forward. The component parts for understanding this issue – the Aboriginals, history of the Indian Residential School System, genocide and culture, and transitional justice - are viewed through a conceptual analysis of these contexts, with post-colonial discourse narrative. In this way, one can judge based on merit the validity of the argument. I conclude with a philosophical analysis in normative ethics, that transitional justice and equitable rights fulfillment cannot move forward for all Canadians, if the label of genocide is not acknowledged as applicable to the era of the Indian Residential Schools.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-23693
Date January 2015
CreatorsDewar, Paula Fernandes
PublisherMalmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), Malmö högskola/Kultur och samhälle
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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