Originally developed as a Master of Laws thesis, this interdisciplinary study examines the relationship between genocide, international law, settler colonialism, and the Canadian state, with particular attention to the forcible removal of Indigenous children and the residential school system. Starblanket examines the legal definition of genocide, Canada's ratification of the United Nations Genocide Convention, and the exclusion of provisions concerning cultural genocide, arguing that the policies imposed upon Indigenous peoples must be understood within the broader framework of genocide and colonial assimilation. Drawing upon extensive historical and legal research, the book considers the removal of children from their families, suppression of Indigenous languages and cultures, physical and sexual abuse, inadequate living conditions, disease, starvation, forced labour, and the continuing effects of these policies on survivors, descendants, and Indigenous communities.
Notes adapted from the publisher's description.
