From Aggression to Acceptance: The Shifting of Quebecois Nationalist Attitudes in Relation to Indigenous Nationalism in Canada

This essay examines the shifting relationship between Quebecois and Indigenous nationalism, tracing a historical path from post-Quiet Revolution Quebec to the signing of the “La Paix des Braves” document in 2002. Nationalist attitudes in Quebec were initially hostile towards their Indigenous counterparts, due to the Indigenous push of a three-nation conception of Canada which undermined the Quebecois dualist English-French founding narrative upon which Quebecois nationalist claims rested. This essay argues that Quebecois nationalist attitudes have grown more accepting over time in response to popularization of the three-nation conception of Canada, and that Quebec’s unique hybrid position as a decolonizing nation and a settler-colonial nation has allowed it to do so through recognition of Indigenous peoples as co-colonized by the Canadian state. This shift from aggression to tolerance is shown through examinations of historical moments such as the James Bay Agreement, the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords, and the Oka Crisis.