Description
Sweden and Canada’s self-identification as exceptionally “caring” and “ethical” states committed to the goal of global gender justice has found new meaning through the adoption of feminist foreign policies. However, despite demonstrating an explicit dedication towards feminist solidarity abroad, both states have failed to adequately attend to the care requests of the Indigenous peoples and communities living within their own seized and settled borders. A lack of self-reflection coupled with an unwillingness to atone for historical acts of colonial violence illuminates the flagrant hypocrisy associated with Swedish and Canadian claims to exceptionalism. Through an illustrative reading of state and church narratives, this paper examines the silences in state provisions of care and reconciliation vis-à-vis the requests for substantive care from Indigenous communities. In doing so, this article addresses a significant gap in the literature pertaining to the violent paradox of feminist politics abroad, and perpetuation of indigenous injustice at “home”.
