Social Science and Settler Colonial Governance: The Panel on Indian Research

Social scientists have only recently come to explore in depth the ways in which the work that they do, the knowledge that they produce, and the ways in which they undertake these activities have emerged within and influenced colonialism. This article explores the role of social scientists in one federal government initiative introduced after the Second World War, a formative period for the social sciences in Canada. The Panel on Indian Research, introduced by the Indian Affairs Branch in the late 1940s, served as a vehicle for government officials to learn about social scientific knowledge that might assist in addressing matters that they considered problems. The activities undertaken by and associated with the panel revealed that social scientists were willing to assist the government in its aims to assimilate and integrate Indigenous peoples into Canadian society, but it also exposed some tensions and contradictions in those relationships.