Non-Indigenous Canadians' Post-Colonial Ideologies, Allyship and Collective Guilt Predict Support for Reconciliation, Collective Action and Political Tolerance

Abstract

Since the release of the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission's (2015) report and their 94 Calls to Action, there has been a push to advance truth and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada. Much of the heavy lifting has been done by Indigenous peoples; but to comprehensively redress injustices there is a need for non-Indigenous support. In two studies with non-Indigenous Canadians (n = 355; n = 341), we investigated post-colonial ideologies (historical negation, symbolic exclusion), ally/supporter identity and collective guilt as predictors of support for reconciliation and Indigenous collective action movements, and political tolerance of Indigenous peoples. Consistent with hypotheses, higher post-colonial ideologies, lower ally/supporter identification and lower collective guilt related to less support and less political tolerance. Collective guilt emerged as a mediator for support for reconciliation and Indigenous collective action (except for symbolic exclusion in Study 1); but it moderated the relations for political tolerance. Collective guilt also moderated relations between symbolic exclusion and ally/supporter identity with support for reconciliation in Study 1. Future directions for advancing understanding of post-colonial ideologies and possible applied interventions aimed at improving intergroup relations are discussed.