Communication ETDs

Publication Date

Spring 5-16-2026

Abstract

This study examines contemporary CID legislation and surrounding political rhetoric in Canada and its implications for Indigenous communities. It reveals how settler consciousness is affirmed through such legislation and how discourse rooted in colonial logics serves to strengthen Canada’s petro-security apparatus. Drawing from Teun van Dijk’s (1995) method of Ideological Discourse Analysis and integrating Indigenous epistemologies, it offers a research approach of anticolonial discourse analysis. This analysis reveals CID legislation as a racialized, colonial tool and a form of biopower the settler-state exerts over Indigenous communities. It normalizes settler-state hegemony and justifies the ongoing dispossession of Indigenous communities. This study highlights Indigenous blockades as a powerful means of political discourse that directly challenges colonial logics and asserts Indigenous sovereignty. This analysis demonstrates that CID legislation is not neutral, but rather a tool of settler colonial control that must be challenged for Indigenous and resurgence to be possible.

Language

English

Keywords

Critical Infrastructure Defense (CID), Settler consciousness, Political rhetoric, Indigenous sovereignty, Ideological discourse analysis, biopolitics

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Communication

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Department of Communication and Journalism

First Committee Member (Chair)

Dr. Michael Lechuga

Second Committee Member

Dr. Jaelyn deMaria

Third Committee Member

Dr. Jason Hannan

Download

Share

COinS