Ep 10: Attitudes Toward Reconciliation in Canada: Connectedness to Nature | Aleah Fontaine & Katherine Starzyk

Talking Papers with Haley Hrymak

In this episode, Aleah Fontaine and Katherine Starzyk discuss their paper, "Attitudes Toward Reconciliation in Canada: Relationships With Connectedness to Nature, Animal–Human Continuity, and Moral Expansiveness" published in the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science in 2021.
In this paper they surveyed 233 non-Indigenous undergraduate students in Canada to investigate the relationships among connectedness to nature, animal–human continuity, moral expansiveness, and support for reconciliation. Participants who felt more connected to nature had more positive attitudes toward reconciliation. They discuss how this implies that strengthening peoples’ connection to nature, and consequently extending peoples’ circles of moral concern, may increase support for reconciliation.
Aleah Fontaine is a Winnipegger of Anishinaabe and mixed-European heritage, and a proud urban band member of Sagkeeng First Nation. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Manitoba. Currently, she is examining how gender and ethnic/racial background relate to intergroup solidarity, with a focus on people’s emotional responses to social injustice and their experiences of collective harm.
Katherine Starzyk, Ph.D., is a Professor in Social and Personality Psychology at the University of Manitoba and Director of the Social Justice Laboratory. She is also a Founding Member of the Centre for Human Rights Research as well as the Centre for Social Science Research & Policy. Presently, alongside a dedicated team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners and collaborators, Katherine is spending much of her time on the Canadian Reconciliation Barometer.
Read a summary article on the paper here within The Conversation
Canadian Reconciliation Barometer