Episode 9 – Recognition at Last? How the Nisga'a Nation changed Canadian law—and why recognition wasn't enough.

In 1973, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a landmark ruling in Calder v. British Columbia, a case that brought the concept of Aboriginal title into Canadian law for the first time. Led by Frank Calder and the Nisga'a Nation, the case challenged British Columbia's long-standing denial of Indigenous land rights and helped shift national policy toward negotiating land claims.

But while Calder marked a turning point, it didn't deliver justice on its own. Recognition, it turns out, is not the same as restitution.

In this episode, we trace the roots of the Nisga'a land struggle—from early petitions to Ottawa to the long legal battle—and unpack the legal, emotional, and political legacy of Calder. We explore what it means to be "recognized" in Canadian law, what was gained, and what remains withheld.

Featured in this episode: – The story of Frank Calder and the Nisga'a Tribal Council – The 1913 Nisga'a Memorial to Prime Minister Laurier – Legal implications of the Calder decision – Reflections on the limits of recognition and what came next

Resources & Further Reading: – Calder v. British Columbia (AG), [1973] S.C.R. 313 – Nisga'a Lisims Government – www.nisgaanation.ca – Hamar Foster, Letting Go the Bone: The Idea of Aboriginal Title in British Columbia, 1849–1927 – John Borrows, Recovering Canada: The Resurgence of Indigenous Law – Audrey G. Richard's biography of Frank Calder (Dictionary of Canadian Biography)

Content Warnings: This episode contains discussions of historical and ongoing colonial injustice, including references to land dispossession, systemic racism, and political marginalization of Indigenous peoples.

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.

• Reynolds, Jim. Aboringinal Peoples and the Law (UBC Press, 2018)

• Indigenous Foundations: The Royal Proclamation, 1763

• BC Treaty Commission: www.bctreaty.ca

• Tuck, Eve & Yang, K. Wayne. Decolonization is not a metaphor (2012)

• Talaga, Tanya. All Our Relations (2018) CBC Massey Lecture

This episode discusses colonial land theft, legal deception, and the historical dispossession of Indigenous peoples. Listener discretion is advised.

What does real decolonization look like?

In this episode, we return to the summer of 1990—to the barricades at Kanehsatà:ke and the standoff that came to be known as the Oka Crisis. Through archival reflections and critical scholarship, we unpack what that moment revealed about Canada's colonial foundations—and how its lessons still resonate.

We hear from historian Sean Carleton, who reflects on Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's response to the crisis and the lasting legacy of military intervention against Indigenous land defenders. We explore the meaning of Land Back, the resistance at 1492 Land Back Lane, and the way settlers have co-opted and diluted the language of decolonization.

And we listen to Ellen Gabriel, a Mohawk activist who stood at the front lines in 1990, describe what that moment stirred in Indigenous communities across Turtle Island.

This episode challenges symbolic reconciliation and asks: What are settlers actually willing to give up?

• Tuck, Eve, and K. Wayne Yang. Decolonization is not a metaphor. (2012)

• Yellowhead Institute. Red Paper: Land Back (2019)

• Carleton, Sean. "Brian Mulroney's complicated legacy on Indigenous rights." Global News (2024)

• Gabriel, Katsi'tsakwas Ellen, and Sean Carleton. When the Pine Needles Fall: Indigenous Acts of Resistance. Toronto: Between the Lines, 2024.

• CBC Archives. Oka Crisis: 78 Days of Resistance

• APTN News. 2024. "Ellen Gabriel and the 'Watershed Moment' That Was the Siege of Kanehsatà:ke." YouTube video, March 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCMGYTvnB8E

• 1492 Land Back Lane: The Walrus: Standoff at 1492 Land Back Lane

This episode contains references to police violence, state surveillance, and the deployment of military force against Indigenous land defenders. Listener discretion is advised.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License. Visit www.sessions.blue to learn more.

Reconsidering Canada is written and produced by Chris Bolster.

"I didn't settle anything." It's one of the most common things settlers say when the topic of colonialism comes up. But the truth is, being a settler isn't about what your ancestors did. It's about where we stand now—and how we benefit from a system built on dispossession.

In this episode of Reconsidering Canada, host Chris Bolster explores what it means to be called a "settler" in a country that calls itself post-colonial. We examine how treaties were broken, land was redistributed, and stories were built to obscure the truth. Through the lens of the Papaschase Cree, the Dominion Lands Act, and contemporary reflections on race, immigration, and inherited position, we ask:

What kind of settler are you willing to be?

This isn't about shame—it's about responsibility. And it begins with facing the story we were never meant to see ourselves in.

Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of colonial violence, land dispossession, residential school legacies, and intergenerational trauma. Please take care while listening.

Credits: Reconsidering Canada is written and hosted by Chris Bolster. Theme music: "In Passage" by Blue Dot Sessions Production and editing by Chris Bolster

Further Learning:

• Dominion Lands Act – Library and Archives Canada

• Chelsea Vowel, "Beyond Territorial Acknowledgements" (âpihtawikosisân)

• Papaschase History – papaschase.ca

• Unsettling the Settler Within by Paulette Regan

• Indigenous Writes by Chelsea Vowel

When two BC MLAs dismissed Indigenous sovereignty as "unfounded" and described reconciliation as an "industry," they weren't just engaging in political rhetoric; they were defending colonialism. In this episode of Reconsidering Canada, host Chris Bolster unpacks the backlash, dissects the myths, and challenges the growing movement of settler denial dressed up as common sense. We examine the legal foundations of Indigenous sovereignty, revisit BC's history of treaty refusal, and trace how colonial erasure is being reframed as inclusion. Reconciliation isn't a scam; it's a responsibility.

Referenced Sources & Further Reading:

Armstrong and Brodie's May 12, 2025 Statement: Okanagan MLA doubles down on claims about 'reconciliation industry' – Castanet

BC's Colonial Legacy & Treaty Refusal:

• Trutch's Refusal to Acknowledge Aboriginal Title

• A History of Aboriginal Title - UBC
• Stolen Lands, Broken Promises - Union of BC Indian Chiefs

Indigenous Sovereignty in Law:

• Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982

• Tsilhqot'in Nation v. British Columbia – SCC Decision

• BC UNDRIP Legislation (DRIPA)

Health Disparities and the Toxic Drug Crisis:

• First Nations Health Authority – 2023 Vital Statistics Report

• First Nations and the Toxic Drug Poisoning Crisis in BC

• TRC Calls to Action

For Further Learning:

• Yellowhead Institute – Red Paper: Land Back

• First Nations Caring Society (Cindy Blackstock)

• Union of BC Indian Chiefs – Sovereignty Resources

Want to take action? Check out the resource links above for places to donate, learn, and support Indigenous-led movements. If you found this episode meaningful, share it, discuss it, and challenge the backlash when you hear it.

Content Warnings: This episode discusses residential schools, systemic neglect, child death, colonial violence, and genocide. Listener discretion is advised.

They Didn't Mean to Kill Them...

"They died of tuberculosis." "No one meant to hurt them." "The chiefs asked for education."

These are the phrases settlers use when confronted with the truth about residential schools. Some are rooted in confusion. Others are part of a deeper refusal to see what this system was meant to do.

In this episode of Reconsidering Canada, we dig into the emotional and political purpose of settler denial—how it explains away genocide using language that sounds reasonable. We revisit Dr. Peter Bryce's 1907 warning about preventable deaths, unpack the UN definition of genocide, and examine how colonial violence often wears a bureaucratic mask. We also look at common deflections, including Aaron Gunn's argument that the schools were "meant to help" and that "mistakes were made."

We end with a reflection on what denial protects, and what it would mean to stop defending Canada—and start listening.

Resources for Further Learning:

• Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Final Report

• Dr. Peter H. Bryce, The Story of a National Crime

• Sean Carleton, Lessons in Legitimacy: Colonialism, Capitalism, and the Rise of State Schooling in British Columbia

• Memory Politics and Canada's Colonial System - Ry Moran

• Orange Shirt Day: orangeshirtday.org

Canada loves to tell stories about its kindness, fairness, and moral superiority. But what happens when settlers begin to let go of those comforting myths? In this episode, we explore the enduring power of the "Good Canadian" narrative—and what gets revealed when we finally start asking who it serves.

We begin with the story of the Komagata Maru, a ship of South Asian migrants turned away by Canada in 1914, and the political movement that sought to challenge the racial borders of the British Empire. We trace how this history—and others like it—have been overshadowed by slogans, school assemblies, and carefully crafted national pride.

Through historical context, cultural critique, and personal reflection, this episode asks: if we stop clinging to the myth of the Good Canadian, what's left? And could that be where the real work begins?

Content warning: This episode includes discussion of racism, immigration exclusion, and colonial violence.

Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of residential schools, colonial violence, and denialism. Listener discretion is advised.

This episode discusses the legacy of residential schools and critiques efforts to deny or distort that history. It draws on survivor testimony, historical research, and public statements. All efforts have been made to represent the facts responsibly.

In May 2021, the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Nation announced the results of a ground survey near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School: 215 potential graves. The country responded with grief, memorials, and lowered flags—but soon, the backlash began. Survivors were doubted. Experts were questioned. Politicians and pundits called it an overreaction.

This episode pulls back the curtain on that backlash—and goes deeper. We explore not just the reaction to Kamloops, but the much longer history of denial that made it possible. Survivors have been telling these stories for generations. So why haven't settlers listened?

We'll talk about the emotional patterns of minimization, distancing, deflection—and the fear that underlies them. And we'll reflect on what it means to move from silence to responsibility.

Featuring the voices of survivors like Evelyn Camille, this episode is a call to listen harder, to resist denial in all its forms, and to begin the real work of reckoning.

What happens when political candidates question the truth about Canada's residential school system? In this episode, Chris Bolster confronts the rise of residential school denialism—fueled by figures like Conservative candidate Aaron Gunn—and explores what's at stake when settlers reject the word "genocide."

From soft denial to full-on revisionism, this episode unpacks how historical truth is being distorted to protect national myths, settler comfort, and political power. Featuring survivor voices and a call to moral clarity, this episode is a powerful challenge to the idea that Canada's colonial past is just a matter of interpretation.

Content warning: This episode discusses residential school trauma, denialism, and genocide. Listener discretion is advised.

Resources for Further Learning:

• The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Final Report

• Sean Carleton – Lessons in Legitimacy

• Cindy Blackstock – First Nations Child and Family Caring Society

• Orange Shirt Society – orangeshirtday.org