The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/1742-2043.htm CSR and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada Brad S. Long Gerald Schwartz School of Business, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Canada Indigenous peoples in Canada 15 Received 22 December 2017 Revised 8 August 2018 12 April 2019 2 October 2019 Accepted 4 October 2019 Abstract Purpose - This paper aims to highlight blind spots in the discourse of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and stretch the boundaries of existent CSR frameworks within the particular context of resource extraction and with regard to the particular stakeholder group of Indigenous peoples in Canada. This context is important in light of the recommendations from the recent Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), as they relate to initiatives that businesses may take towards reconciliation with Indigenous people. Design/methodology/approach - This paper brings together a disparate body of literature on CSR, Indigenous spiritual values and experiences of extractive practices on Indigenous ancestral lands. Suggestions are offered for empirical research and projects that may advance the project of reconciliation. Findings - CSR may not be an appropriate framework for reconciliation without alteration to its managerial biases and ideological assumptions. The CSR discourse needs to accommodate the "free prior and informed consent" of Indigenous peoples and their spiritual values and knowledge vis-à-vis the land for resource extractive practices to edge towards being socially responsible when they occur on Canadian ancestral territories. Originality/value - Canadian society exists in a post-TRC world, which demands that we reconcile with our past of denying Indigenous values and suppressing the cultures of Indigenous peoples from flourishing. This paper aspires to respond to the TRC's recommendation for how businesses in the resource extractive industries may engage meaningfully and authentically with Indigenous people in Canada as a step towards reconciliation. Keywords Spirituality, Corporate and social responsibility, Reconciliation, Indigenous peoples, Resource extraction, UNDRIP Paper type Research paper This essay presents a debate over corporate social responsibility (CSR) and whether it can advance the aims of reconciliation with Indigenous people in Canada. In keeping with the theme of this special issue, our focus is on the resource extractive industries whose interface with Indigenous communities is more direct and prevalent. Moreover, the discourse of social responsibility has already been adopted within certain Canadian industries involved in extractivism[1], and so it seems appropriate to examine its potential as a catalyst for change. This essay begins with some background on the new mandate for reconciliation in Canada and the critical role of businesses as willing participants, while admitting to an overall lack of progress that is especially prevalent within the resource extractive industry sector. To understand whether CSR could pave a way towards reconciliation, a critical examination of the construct is required. We do not undertake a survey of the critical perspectives on international business Vol. 18 No. 1, 2022 pp. 15-30 C Emerald Publishing Limited 1742-2043 DOI 10.1108/cpoib-12-2017-0096 This paper forms part of a special section "Extractivism and the Links between International