Breaching The Guilt Taboo: Comparing Australian and Canadian initiatives, policies and approaches concerning their indigenous populations, from a reconciliation perspective

Abstract

Transitional justice and its ultimate goal - reconciliation - for indigenous peoples in nation-states which have arisen out of settler colonialism, presents a difficult challenge. In the two nation-states this thesis draws a comparison between, Australia and Canada, a clear socioeconomic divide exists between the indigenous and non-indigenous population. This, in combination with other factors, hinders a sustainable reconciliation process. Much has been written on this ongoing struggle, yet a comparison between the two countries has not yet been made, at least not from a reconciliation point of view. This thesis therefore aims to bridge that hiatus in literature, by assessing as to what extent both countries can benefit from each others best experiences with regard to achieving reconciliation with their indigenous inhabitants.