Vienna Working Papers In Canadian Studies Vol. 1 (2016) Between Rocks And Hard Places: Indigenous Lands, Settler Art Histories And The "Battle For The Woodlands"

The historical legacies of colonialism which continue to shape settler-Indigenous relationships in Canada are today being actively renegotiated in both political and cultural spheres. Commitments to enact change have been spurred by the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Residential Schools tabled in June 2015 and are reflected in the announced intentions of the new Trudeau government to act on all of its recommendations (see TRC Commission of Canada). This is, then, a good moment for an art historian to think about the ways in which the narratives of Canadian art we create might work in concert with these urgently needed changes: by helping to indigenize our images and understandings of the lands and places today shared by Indigenous peoples and settlers.