(In) Visible Histories: Colonialism, Space and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Abstract

The recent opening of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) has resulted in ongoing debates about representation of particular identity-seeking groups both academically and in the public realm. This article draws attention to the importance of the museum itself being constructed upon Indigenous land as representative of an ongoing colonial project. This paper critically examines: how do official discourses of the CMHR frame historical and contemporary Indigenous-settler relationships within this space? What contradictions emerge between the framing of “human rights,” narratives of peaceful settlement and the geographical location? The museum itself will be placed in the larger context of Canada’s settler colonial present, troubling its supposed commitment to human rights domestically and abroad. Finally, a critical legal geography analysis will be given in order to highlight the spatial significance of the CMHR and mandate to make visible some histories while erasing others.