ABSTRACT
Shakespeare’s ghost is to be found among the ruins of colonial inter-relations, circulating uncomfortably as an emblem of state hegemony, but also as a fugitive figure whose reclamation in the name of decolonization has served a purpose in storytelling from within a specifically First Nations aesthetic and political context. This dynamic is a long and complex story and deserves more attention than a book chapter like this can give. Haudenosaunee writer Alicia Elliott says, “It’s funny how Canada won’t take responsibility for upholding treaties to our people, but it will take credit for our artistic brilliance” (2017). The comment frames how, in Canada, appropriative strategies tied to the arts are part of larger dissimulative strategies of governance. These strategies substitute problematic frameworks of artistic standing, including celebrity and the brand-ification of cultural icons such as Shakespeare, for the actual allocation of meaningful resources to generate peace and reconciliation. Politics follows aesthetics in this scenario.
