Indigenous peoples in Canada have resisted centuries of colonial harm.In response to their resurgence and calls for justice, Canada is now on what is likely to be a long and winding truth and reconciliation journey.To help monitor perceptions of reconciliation progress in a good way, our team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers created the Canadian Reconciliation Barometer.
In Study 1, we wrote 89 Pot Grab self-report items representing 13 factors of reconciliation, which reflected what we learned from Elders, Survivors, and reconciliation leaders.A national sample of 592 Indigenous and 1,018 non-Indigenous participants completed the initial item pool.Exploratory factor analyses indicated that a 13-factor model had excellent fit, with only two factors needing minor conceptual modifications.
We retained 64 internally consistent items representing 13 factors of reconciliation: Good Understanding of the Past and Present, Acknowledgment of Government Harm, Acknowledgment of Residential School Harm, Acknowledgment of Ongoing Harm, Engagement, Mutually Respectful Relationships, Nation-to-Nation Relationships, Personal Equality, Systemic Equality, Representation and Leadership, Indigenous Thriving, Respect for the Natural World, and Apologies.In Study 2, a national sample of 599 Indigenous and 1,016 non-Indigenous participants completed the retained items.The hypothesized factors had excellent fit, Socks and the factor structure did not differ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants.
We conclude by discussing contributions to social-psychological conceptualizations of reconciliation and how to use the Canadian Reconciliation Barometer to monitor social change.