Hosted by the Royal BC Museum

Truth before Reconciliation: Unsettling British Columbia’s History of Schooling and Settler Colonialism

Guest speaker: Dr. Sean Carleton

In-person: Newcombe Hall, Royal BC Museum, 675 Belleville St., Victoria, BC
Online: Zoom attendees are required to register

2:00 - 3:00 PT

Between 1849 and 1930, schooling in what is now British Columbia supported the creation of a capitalist settler society. In this talk, Dr. Sean Carleton will speak about his new book, Lessons in Legitimacy: Colonialism, Capitalism, and the Rise of State Schooling in British Columbia (UBC Press 2022), which examines government-assisted schooling in the province for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples – public schools, Indian Day Schools, and Indian Residential Schools – in one analytical frame. Carleton explains how church and state officials administered different school systems that trained Indigenous and settler children and youth to take up and accept unequal roles in the emerging social order. This research reveals how an understanding of the historical uses of schooling can inform contemporary discussions about the role of education in reconciliation and improving Indigenous-settler relations.

Sean Carleton is a settler historian and an assistant professor in the departments of history and Indigenous studies at the University of Manitoba. He is the author of Lessons in Legitimacy: Colonialism, Capitalism, and the Rise of State Schooling in British Columbia (UBC Press, 2022).