Cran, Gregory2017-04-072017-04-0720032017-04-07http://hdl.handle.net/1828/7891In 1899, a group o f Russian peasants called the Doukhobors immigrated to Canada, after suffering centuries of persecution in Russia. Soon after their arrival, conflict emerged between these new immigrants and the state over such issues as land ownership, refusal to register births and deaths, and to send their children to school. As positions hardened, a group known as the Sons of Freedom emerged that used nudity, arson, and bombings as their means o f protest and retaliation. These practices continued on for the better part of a century. Numerous unsuccessful attempts were made to address the conflict, ranging from commissions of inquiry to child apprehensions for truancy. Finally, in 1985 an accord was reached among the groups and government that marked the beginning of the end to violence. What enabled this intervention to succeed was the focus of this study. This study applies a narrative approach that examined the discourse of the Doukhobor groups, government and others to learn how certain perceptions and meanings led to bombings and arson and how co-constructing competing narratives into a new narrative provided a means for change. The analysis is based on transcripts o f the proceedings, along with the narrative renderings and epiphanies of those who played a key strategic role in helping the groups reach an accord. Resulting from this study were findings that challenged conventional conflict resolution practices, particularly when applied in an ethnopolitical context.enAvailable to the World Wide WebDukhoborsThesis