The Hopes and Discontents of Indigenous–Settler Reconciliation

Abstract

How are Indigenous and settler relationships structured, and how is conflict addressed? In settler-colonial societies, complex patterns exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities who share the same territory, but whose relationships have been characterized by harm and violence. This violence is not just a matter of history, 1 but exists for as long as the Indigenous and settler communities are in conflict-potentially hundreds of years. Moreover, the harm is not solely acute, for example in the form of physical acts of violence; it also takes the form of less visible but nonetheless highly structured and systemic violence. These forms of violence might include discrimination, socioeconomic inequality, poorer health outcomes and denial of meaningful self-determination. How, then, can 'reconciliation' occur, when for many the harms are not past but rather continuing, and occur in ways that are not broadly appreciated as violence, as they are committed in times of 'peace'? How do the field of transitional justice and 1 Although the historical record of settler-colonial violence is integral, and very well established. In the

Settler Colonialism and the South African TRC: Ambivalent Denial and Democratisation Without Decolonisation

“…Finally, another set of questions that arises from this article relates more broadly to scholarship on transitional justice and settler colonialism. Specifically, there has been a proliferation of literature examining transitional mechanisms in 'New World' settler colonies, notably in Australia and Canada (e.g., Balint et al, 2014;Edmonds, 2016;Park, 2020;Rigney, 2017). Interpreting apartheid as an expression of settler colonialism invites exploration of how concepts and theorisations that emerged in relation to transitional measures in Australia or Canada may illuminate issues relating to transitional justice in South Africa.…”

“…Indeed, the South African TRC is the 'most revered and reviled institution of this kind' (Rose, 2015: 61). In the last, approximately, 15 years, a field of study has emerged that centres on settler colonialism (Veracini, 2010: 9) while analyses of settler colonialism have become firmly established in transitional justice scholarship, specifically in relation to mechanisms in Australia and Canada responding to the mistreatment of indigenous children by the settler state (e.g., Balint et al, 2014;Edmonds, 2016;Park, 2020;Rigney, 2017). In sharp contrast, transitional justice in South Africa has escaped examination through the lens of settler colonialism.…”

Spatio-Temporal Dimensions of Indigenous Sovereignty in International Law

“…27 For others, indigenous sovereignty should be a fundamental element of reconciliation between settler and indigenous societies. 28…”