Dr. Mathieu Arsenault

Biography

Mathieu Arsenault is an Associate Professor at the University of Montreal, specializing in Indigenous history in Quebec and Canada during the 19th and 20th centuries. His research focuses on Indigenous political activism, relations with the state, and the construction of colonial statehood in British North America. Specifically, he investigates the Crown's role and center-periphery dynamics in discursive practices, petitions, and correspondence between Indigenous communities and colonial power centers. His current projects examine Indigenous territorial relations and residential architecture transformations in Indigenous communities in Quebec, Ontario, and the Maritimes from 1800 to 1880. He studies the participation of First Nations in establishing village centers on reserved lands prior to legislative recognition in the 1850s, shedding light on social experimentations in the form of model villages and the emergence of new residential architectures created or encouraged by the state and Indigenous communities. He is also interested in Indigenous women's political writings in the 18th and 19th centuries, health history, vaccination, and the relationships between physicians and Indigenous communities during the colonial period in the late 19th century.

Research Interests

Experience

Awards