Reconsidering Canada
Reconsidering Canada
Podcast Description
Reconsidering Canada is a podcast for settlers confronting the myths we grew up with. We explore Canadian history, denial, and decolonization—with truth, not neutrality, at the centre.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on Canadian history, denialism regarding residential schools, and the process of decolonization, with episodes examining themes such as the backlash against the acknowledgment of residential school graves and the political denialism surrounding historical truths, including episodes like 'What We Buried' and 'Was It Really That Bad?'.
Reconsidering Canada is a podcast for settlers confronting the myths we grew up with. We explore Canadian history, denial, and decolonization—with truth, not neutrality, at the centre.
Unceded and Unsettled: The Empty Promises of the Douglas Treaties
What does it mean when land is called “unceded”? And what happens when treaties weren’t real agreements at all?
In this episode, we travel to Vancouver Island in the 1850s to examine the Douglas Treaties—short, one-sided agreements signed between the Crown and several Indigenous nations. Host Chris Bolster explores how these so-called treaties created the illusion of consent while paving the way for Crown land claims, resource extraction, and settler occupation.
We also unpack the Royal Proclamation of 1763, the legal foundation of Indigenous title in Canadian law, and what the word “unceded” truly means—not as a metaphor, but as a legal and political reality that challenges Crown sovereignty to this day.
This episode lays the groundwork for understanding Land Back not as a radical demand, but as a legal consequence of Canada’s own unresolved obligations.
Further Reading & Resources
Reynolds, Jim. Aboringinal Peoples and the Law (UBC Press, 2018)
BC Treaty Commission: www.bctreaty.ca
Tuck, Eve & Yang, K. Wayne. Decolonization is not a metaphor (2012)
⚠️ Content Advisory
This episode discusses colonial land theft, legal deception, and the historical dispossession of Indigenous peoples. Listener discretion is advised.
Disclaimer
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