David MacDonald - Edit 1

- My name is David MacDonald, I am a professor in the Department of Political Science the University of Guelph, and I'm a Research Leadership Chair for the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences. Much of my research looks at political science or comparative indigenous politics in Canada and New Zealand primarily, and I also look at comparative race relations, comparative genocide studies and international relations. I think that what's important is that Canadians Ontarians get a sense of responsibilities as settlers. And I think there's a lack of responsibility. There's maybe a curiosity amongst some and a lack of curiosity amongst others to know what happened in places like the Indian residential schools, or the starvation policies of early government during what we call 'The Clearing of the Plains'. The problems of drinking water in reserves, I mean, these are all problems. But we don't really, I think, as settler Canadians have a sense of responsibility for these things. Part of my interest has been to kind of get to the truth of much of what has occurred and then have Canadians kind of engage with that truth as a prelude maybe to reconciliation, or even to conciliation because I don't know that we really had a period of conciliation before that time. I feel like I'm improving life here and certainly in Guelph by... encouraging a lot more graduate students hopefully to come and engage with the kinds of materials that I'm working on, to try and create a more diverse campus in terms of cultural diversity, ethnic diversity, things like that. To also create a better environment for settler Canadians to feel a sense of responsibility for the past and indigenous present as well. And to help Canadians and Ontarians and people in Guelph better understand the stakes involved in the reconciliation process, and what an indigenous resurgence means for everybody I think into the future.