Unveiling Representation: A Discourse and Visual Analysis of Indigenous Narratives in Canada’s Citizenship Guide

Abstract

In this study I critically examine “Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship,” the official guide for prospective Canadian citizens, as a site of ideological reproduction and identity formation. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and visual semiotics, framed by postcolonial and settler-colonial theory, I explore how Indigenous peoples and Indigenous-settler relations are represented through language and imagery. The analysis shows that the guide constructs a sanitized national narrative that marginalizes Indigenous sovereignty, minimizes historical and ongoing colonial violence, and normalizes settler-colonial authority through euphemistic language, selective representation, and constrained visual framing. Attention is given to the guide’s lexical choices, its softened treatment of treaty violations and residential schools, and its limited visual positioning of Indigenous presence within Canadian history and citizenship. The findings demonstrate that “Discover Canada” functions not only as a study resource for the citizenship test, but also as a state-produced pedagogical text that shapes how newcomers understand national identity, belonging, and historical memory. In this article, I argue that citizenship education must move beyond symbolic inclusion and instead foreground Indigenous histories, sovereignties, and political realities to support more truthful, pluralistic, and ethically responsible understandings of Canadian citizenship.

Keywords: Citizenship Education; Discover Canada; Indigenous Representation; Settler-Colonialism; Critical Discourse Analysis; Visual Semiotics