Those who view colonialism as Canada's original sin are trying to set themselves apart as 'one of the good ones'

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There seem to be a lot of settlers in Canada these days — or at least more people who call themselves settlers.

The phrase shows up in email signatures and Twitter bios, right next to pronouns and job titles. At the start of meetings in the world of universities, NGOs and the public sector, people introduce themselves as a settler who lives on some Indigenous people’s traditional lands.

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It’s becoming so ubiquitous that it’s worth recalling how recent this all is — and to wonder what it means. What are people talking about when they call themselves settlers?

The first time I really took notice of this was a few years ago. Someone I knew was proud of her Ojibway heritage and spoke a lot about her Ojibway grandfather. Curious, I asked about her other grandparents. This, I swiftly realized, was a mistake. Her face crumpled. My question forced her to admit that, as she put it, “they’re just the usual settler mix.”

She said the word “settler” — talking about three of her four grandparents — with a brutal mixture of disdain and discomfort. Here she was, trying to pass as Indigenous, and I’d forced her to admit that most of her background was white.

Although the term ostensibly divides between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians, most people use it as shorthand for “white.” It seems to be a way to talk about white people without explicitly referencing skin colour. It lets people attribute a whole slew of........

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