Settled Memories on Stolen Land: Settler Mythology at Canada's National Holocaust Monument

The National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa is used to “canadianize” the Holocaust and position Canada as morally superior to Nazi Germany, when really, Canada has committed its own genocide against Indigenous Peoples. The monument stands on unceded Algonquin territory and this was not acknowledged by the creators/officials. The monument excludes Indigenous Peoples from Canada’s national mythology, while including Holocaust survivors, having allowed Holocaust survivors to rebuild following WWII. However, Canada did not allow Jewish refugees entry during the war, making one more history the monument is erasing. This monument wrongly portrays Canada as civilized and inclusive. The design techniques, to incorporate forests, trees and movement into the monument, attempt to Indigenize settler societies. Globally, supporters of the monument refuse to acknowledge the similarities between the Canadian settler colonial state and the settler occupation of Palestine by Israel. A noncompetitive approach is needed, rather than the “Oppression Olympics” that is the comparison of suffering that the monument may promote.