Immigration of Asian North Americans and Settler Colonialism

Canada is celebrated and popularized as a multicultural society, with one in five people in the 2011 Canadian population born in a foreign country. From 2011-2016, 61.8% of Canada's immigrant population were born in Asia. Despite the long history of Asian immigration that has defined and shaped demographic trends in North America, their history is one characterized by "exclusion and inequity" due to the prevalence of systemic racism and widespread colonialism. The label, "multicultural society" accounts for diversity that is brought about by foreign-born Canadians, yet fails to recognize the very people who had first lived on the land. In what ways do the influx of Asian immigration and settler colonialism intertwine and take shape in multicultural societies?

Settler Colonialism

Settler colonial theory, also referred to as "settler colonialism," is defined as an ongoing power system that is built on genocidal and repressive practices committed against indigenous peoples and their respective cultures. Through the perpetuation of oppressive practices, "continuous settler occupation" is "normalized".

The very foundation of Canadian society is built on the fundamentals of settler colonialism. With the arrival of European colonists (eventually turned settlers) in the 16th century, there began a widespread displacement of Indigenous peoples from places they have called home for over 10,000 years. The displacement of Indigenous peoples is further exacerbated by the forced enrolment of children into residential schools and isolation through physical boundaries of reserves. These places were created with the intention of "assimilation through education" of what the Canadian state defines as Canadian. With an estimated population of 900,000 Indigenous peoples living in cities in 2016, many have decided to move into urban areas to join the plethora of people of different nationalities who call Canada their home.

Historical Context: Immigration to North America

From 1840-1945, Canada facilitated the immigration of waves of people from Europe and Asia. This was not the same in the early 1800s, as the Canadian census of 1870-1 primarily comprised people of British and/or French origin, with the population of Indigenous peoples fewer in comparison. Between 1970-80, Canada and mainly the United States of America experienced growing numbers of immigrants from the Asia Pacific region due to "sustained immigration and refugee resettlement". The influx of immigrants from the Asia Pacific perpetuates settler colonialism in settler societies, partly due to their "complicity".

In places such as Vancouver and Hawaii, Asian settlers' complicity is highlighted by the stereotype of "early Asian labour migrants as 'pioneers'" and "colonial expansion" of their own cultural practices and beliefs to their new homes. Vancouver is regarded as a "magnet for immigrants from all over the world". For residents in Vancouver, the wealth and luxury that accompanies Asian immigration (particularly those from mainland China) has resulted in feelings of growing resentment and frustration towards the newly immigrated. While immigrants are drawn to Vancouver like a magnet, in Hawai'i, European settlers who arrived in the United Sates invaded Native territory and colonized them. Settler colonialism defines a colonial system wherein Indigenous peoples do not have "their human right to self-determination". By this definition, Asian migrants are settlers because they actively participate and contribute to North American colonialist power structures that continuously oppress and restrict Indigenous peoples.

The mass migration of Asian people to North America is not directly equivalent to colonialism. Instead, migration to a settler colonial space drives a form of “romantic anticapitalism” that uses immigrants’ “political agency” to strengthen imperial colonial structures. Asian migration to various cities in North America disrupts a state's physical boundaries, as immigrants' social circles and daily activities "encompass both their host and home societies". The same can be said of European settlers who first "discovered" North America through the colonial expansion of European beliefs and practices that take place on Indigenous lands.

The Process of "Decolonizasian"

In “white men’s countries,” Asian North American immigrants play a key role in the “genocidal displacement” of Indigenous peoples. The process of Asian North American migration complicates national and geographical boundaries, due to the “‘stretching-out’ of identities across places” that will most likely occur on Indigenous lands. Decolonization is defined as the process of "deconstructing colonial ideologies" that laud Western thought, practices, and beliefs as superior to others through the dismantlement of repressive systems, recognizing the value of Indigenous knowledge, as well as being accountable for complicity and a sense of responsibility in the historical oppression of Indigenous peoples.

Through "decolonial solidarity," the process of “deloconizasian” aims to appease Asian-Indigenous tensions by underlining Asian complicity paves the way to creating a space for healing and reconciliation. Asian North American diaspora provides immigrants with an opportunity for success according to colonial standards, however these opportunities are stripped from Indigenous peoples who continue to be oppressed by colonial power structures. There is a need to support movements that are in favour of decolonization in order to grant Indigenous peoples their human right to self-determination that they rightly deserve.