Commentary
What is the difference between the treaties that indigenous people signed and the Calls to Action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Report?
In a single word: “reciprocity.”
The treaties assumed that reciprocity is necessary in any agreement, while the Calls to Action do not.
History teaches us that reciprocity is the social norm used to respond to another person’s positive or negative actions. If an action is positive, the appropriate response is positive, but if an action is negative, the appropriate response is negative. Most people understand this notion in the common-sense phrases “tit-for-tat” and “you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.”…