« Settler what-aboutism: Jayde Fuller, ‘”What-aboutism” as colonial technology: a practical guide for First Nations People – how deflection operates as an automated defence system and how to respond from sovereignty’, Indigenous Regulatory Practice, 11/03/26
Settlers and their good press: Helena Goodwyn, Reviewing The New Journalism, the New Imperialism and the Fiction of Empire, 1870–1900 by Andrew Griffiths, Settlers, War, and Empire in the Press: Unsettling News in Australia and Britain, 1863–1902 by Sam Hutchinson, and Dreamworlds of Race: Empire and the Utopian Destiny of Anglo-America by Duncan Bell, Modern Language Review, 121, 2026, pp. 260-267 »

Reconciliations with barriers: Kaylee Grace Brink, State-Driven Indigenous-Settler Reconciliation in Australia and Canada: The Identification of Societal and Individual-Level Barriers, PhD dissertation, Victoria University of Wellington, 2026

03Apr26

Abstract: Indigenous-settler reconciliation in Australia and Canada seeks to reset relationships deeply harmed by generations of legal discrimination and cultural genocide. Prime ministerial apologies in both countries in 2008, alongside sustained Indigenous, civil society, and legal advocacy, appeared to reinvigorate reconciliation efforts. However, progress has since stalled. While existing research has examined various social and political factors shaping reconciliation, few studies have simultaneously examined the roles of societal narratives and individual attitudes. This thesis therefore asks: what are the societal-level and individuallevel barriers to Indigenous-settler reconciliation in Australia and Canada? To answer this question, the thesis presents five empirical studies using qualitative and quantitative methods within a comparative framework informed by settler colonial theory. The studies analyse the influence of history education, collective memory, media discourse, and public opinion on support for reconciliation. Across these domains, the findings demonstrate the recursive nature of societal narratives and individual attitudes toward reconciliation. The analysis identifies three societal-level barriers operating across contexts: the continued use of, or belief in, collective memories challenged by the 2008 apologies, settler paternalism, and deficit framing of Indigenous Peoples. These narratives are reproduced through formal education and media discourse, shaping public understandings of reconciliation and influencing individual-level support for reconciliation initiatives. Taken together, the findings provide a comparative, multi-level explanation of how societal narratives and individual attitudes interact recursively to sustain barriers to reconciliation in settler colonial societies. The thesis concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for advancing reconciliation and identifying avenues for future research.


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