Decolonizing Antiracism

Summary, part 4

Beyond innocence: The failure of Canadian antiracism to make colonialism foundational

In this section, Lawrence and Dua aim to do two things: (1) show how antiracist theory has failed to make colonialism foundational, and (2) add nuance and complexity to how people of color exist in settler societies.

Antiracist theory

Antiracism theory has been written on colonized lands but has failed to make the history, resistance, and current realities of Aboriginal peoples part of the conversation in various ways. Aboriginal people are not invited to participate in organizing and when they are, their recognition is tokenized. For example, Indigenous people may be invited to perform a ceremony, but the ceremony will not be appropriate for the occasion. Additionally, Aboriginal speakers might be invited to conferences, but their talks will only be attended by Indigenous people and their families. The reason such failures occur is because of one theoretical underpinning: with all Indigenous people being seen as ‘First Nations’ people, Indigenous populations are put into the same category as people of color.

How people of color exist in settler societies

People of color participate in or are complicit in the ongoing project of colonization. This section provides a list of examples of this being the case:

• Black Loyalists in Nova Scotia were awarded land whites did not want, but Native people on those lands were forced off in the bloodiest interval of genocide in Canadian history.

• South Asian male migrants referred to themselves as colonists and defined their goal to be constructing an Indian colony in Canada.

• The Charlottetown Accord would have given Aboriginal people recognition and rights, but it needed to be ratified through a national referendum. In doing so, Aboriginal people were excluded from the vote and their rights were left in the hands of settlers.

People of color’s struggles relate to Indigenous struggles. For example, the Canadian ‘head tax’ restricted immigration from non-Europeans. This tax led to an exclusion of people of color from entering Canada, thus ensuring that the people who replaced Indigenous people on their lands were white.

Immigration is a touchy subject for Aboriginal peoples. 

“Regarding immigration, Aboriginal peoples are caught between a rock and a hard place. Either they are implicated in the anti-immigrant racism of white Canadians, or they support struggles of people of color that fail to take seriously the reality of ongoing colonization.” p. 136

That said, immigration and colonization are still worth exploring. The Delgamuuk’w decision clearly outlined that Aboriginal rights could be infringed by continuing immigration. Canada, however, has open border-type immigration goals that “can be used to restrict Aboriginal rights'' (p. 136). Antiracist activists must ask themselves how “opening borders would affect Indigenous struggles aimed at reclaiming land and nationhood” (p. 136). Additionally, antiracist activists must think about how their campaigns might “preempt the ability of Aboriginal communities to establish title to their traditional lands” (p. 136).