Increasing Support for Reconciliation in Settler Colonial Societies

• In Event: Atrocity Crimes: New Challenges and New Approaches of Transitional Justice (ECACTJ)

Abstract

In Canada, profound inequalities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals stemming from the country’s history of settler colonialism persist to this day. Reconciliation requires collective acknowledgement of past harm and reparative measures to redress it. However, such a process can prove challenging among the mass public due to misinformation and anti-Indigenous animus. We field a survey of 3000 non-Indigenous Canadians to assess whether information on the ongoing consequences of past settler colonialist policies can promote inclusion and motivate support for policy reforms. We assess two distinct interventions for achieving this goal: corrective information and perspective-getting narratives. We find corrective information results in factual updating only, whereas narratives succeed in changing minds as well. Neither strategy enhances the effectiveness of the other. Our findings contribute to the study of reconciliation and pave a way forward for advocates of reparations.

Authors

• Andreea Zota, Université de Montréal

• Jo-Anne Wemmers, Université de Montréal

• Marco M. Aviña, Harvard University