Research summary
It is increasingly understood that advancing meaningful reconciliation with Indigenous people in Canada requires the involvement of individuals with a wide range of perspectives, attitudes and states of mind. Despite worthy initiatives, motivating non-Indigenous people to think and relate differently remains a challenge, especially when it comes to questions of land and sovereignty.
As Canada Research Chair in Creative Technology and Community Engagement, Dr. Leah Decter is exploring the vital role artistic interventions can play in social transformation and the production of decolonial knowledge by revealing counter-narratives and spurring people to reflect and interact. Decter and her research team are using innovative academic and artistic research methods—including an inter-media arts project to counter-map the Trans Canada Trail—to better understand how we might re-imagine familiar ideas about place to create a more equitable future.