Truth and Reconciliation: Our Plan for Change
The Indigenous Speakers Series is an original and important platform to begin, continue and advance the conversation about telling the truth and reconciling for the future. First Nations in British Columbia and Canada possess an exceptional ability to speak. This gift is unparalleled in the context of Indigenous history and origin in Canada. When we think of the great leaders of the recent past it brings forward the presence of our Ancestors. The ability to perpetuate oral histories that are anchored to the beginning of time speaks to a confidence that is simultaneously spiritual and modern. There has never been a more important time to call upon our elders, leaders, scholars, and people to speak about our individual and shared truths and to anchor compassion in reconciling for the future.
As health systems in British Columbia begin to develop, improve and implement standards of Cultural Safety and Humility, and policies to manage racism and discrimination, it is both timely and relevant to advance our individual and collective understanding about Indigenous peoples – First Nations, Métis and Inuit. The Faculty of Medicine, its distributed campuses, and its associated learning, work, social, and institutional environments must reflect our best principles of Respect, Integrity, Compassion, Collaboration, and Equity in a deliberate effort to Transform Health for Everyone – and to transform our own academic culture for all students, faculty and staff. You are welcome to join us in a spirit of integrity and understanding in this original new series
Events
- Dubayaax a ts’awalk – Everything Is One: The Need for Meaningful Engagement & Relationship Building
Register for our second in-person Indigenous Speakers Series session on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm (PT) at the UBC Vancouver campus. In this unique event, we are honoured to welcome members of the Ditidaht First Nation Chief & Council, including the Nation’s Treaty Negotiator.
Watch Recordings of Previous Sessions from the 2024-2025 Series
- To Bear Witness: A Meaningful Conversation about my Mom on Belonging and Perseverance
Watch a recording for a conversation with Maï Yasué, Associate Director of the REDI Office, about Derek’ mother, Maude Thompson. Maude was a Haisla First Nations woman, a Survivor of the Indian Residential School experience, and a cook at the Tsow-tun Le Lum Society – Substance Use and Trauma Treatment Centre for nearly 40 years. - The First Page of a New Chapter: Leading Transformative Change for Indigenous Peoples in an Era of Truth and Reconciliation
Watch a recording for a conversation with Dr. Alika Lafontaine, an award-winning physician, social innovator, and the first Indigenous physician listed by the Medical Post as one of Canada’s 50 Most Powerful Doctors. Grounded in a mixed Indigenous ancestry of Métis, Oji-Cree, and Pacific Islander, Dr. Lafontaine has served in provincial and national medical leadership positions for two decades. - Weaving Relations for Meaningful and Genuine Change
Watch a recording for a conversation with Dana-Lyn Mackenzie, a member of the Hwlitsum First Nation, lawyer, and Senior Manager, EDI & Indigeneity, at the Faculties of Applied Science and Land and Food Systems. Dana-Lyn was instrumental in creating the Intergenerational March to Commemorate Orange Shirt Day, the Weaving Relations course, and the Cascades of Change program. - We Are What We Eat: Digesting the Merits of Indigenous Food Systems & Sovereignty
Watch a recording for a conversation with Jared Williams – Qwustenuxun, an Indigenous Foods Educator from Quw’utsun (Cowichan Tribes). In this discussion, you will learn about Indigenous food sovereignty and security. - Postponed | Through the Lens: Portraits of Who We Are and Where We Come From
*** Event postponed due to unforeseen circumstances, our apologies *** Join us on Tuesday, Nov 26th, 2024 from 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM (PST), for a conversation with Melody Charlie, a Nuu-Chah-Nulth photographer and guest curator of the Matriarchs Seen and Unseen exhibition at the Bill Reid Gallery. - Unbroken: My Fight for Survival, Hope, and Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls
Watch a recording for a conversation with Angela Sterritt, an award-winning investigative journalist, TV, radio, and podcast host, and national bestselling author for her book Unbroken. Angela is from the Wilp Wiik’aax (we-GAK) of the Gitanmaax (GIT-in-max) community. - Coming Home: Honouring the Resiliency of All Survivors of the Indian Residential School Experience
Watch a recording for our first in person Indigenous Speakers Series session. In this unique event, we were honoured to welcome Survivors, and children of Survivors, of the Indian Residential School Experience.
Watch Recordings of Previous Sessions from the 2022-2023 Series
- Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami: The National Voice of All Inuit in Canada
Watch the recording for a conversation with Natan Obed, Canada’s National Inuit Leader. Natan Obed is the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national representational organization protecting and advancing the rights and interests of Inuit in Canada. - Rez Rules: My Indictment of Canada’s and America’s Systemic Racism Against Indigenous Peoples
Watch the recording for a conversation with Chief Clarence Louie, Osoyoos Indian Band and author of REZ RULES: My Indictment of Canada’s and America’s Systemic Racism Against Indigenous Peoples. - Our Shared Vision: Leading Transformative Change in Health for BC First Nations
Watch the recording of this Indigenous Speaker Series session, which brought together a panel of senior political representatives working across the four pillars of BC First Nations Health governance: the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), the First Nations Health Council (FNHC), the First Nations Health Directors Association (FNHDA), and the Tripartite Committee on First Nations Health (TCFNH). - The Circle Game: Shadows and Substance in the Indian Residential School Experience in Canada
Watch the recording for a conversation with Dr. Roland Chrisjohn – Kanakalut, Onyota’a:ka of the Haudenausuanee; author of “The Circle Game: Shadows and Substance in the Indian Residential School Experience in Canada” and “Dying to Please You: Indigenous Suicide in Contemporary Canada.” - Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, A White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation
Watch the recording for a conversation with Andrew Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii), authors of Valley of the Birdtail. In this Indigenous Speakers Series session, we learnt about what it means to be Indigenous in Canada, what it means for all of us to be Canadians in a newly reformed Canada, if we choose to be on the road to reconciliation. - Our Language and Stories are Far Too Complex for Them to Understand: An Excavation of Sorts About Who We Are and Where We Come From
Watch the recording for a conversation with Dr. Paulette Steeves, author of the Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere. In this session, we learnt about the rewriting of Indigenous histories, framed through Indigenous knowledge. - We’re Still Dancing Around the Table: Reconstituting our Sensibilities about Truth, Reconciliation and Redress
Watch the recording for a conversation with Chief Bill Wilson – Hemas KlaLeeLeeKla, who brought both truth and truthfulness about past and present contexts of Indigenous peoples’ collective struggle to negotiate their legitimate and proper place in British Columbia and Canada. - We Welcome The Children Back Home: The Burden of Sorrow and Survival of the Indian Residential School Experience in Canada
Watch the recording for this Indigenous Speaker Series session which brought together a panel of survivors of the Indian Residential School experience in Canada. This important session welcomed and honored these brave and resilient survivors as they lead us in a discussion about the urgency and motivation to right and write a new history in Canada that is based on a proper redress for Indigenous peoples and communities.
Watch Recordings of Previous Sessions from the 2022-2023 Series
- Transformation, Inspiration and Guidance: Celebrating 20 Years of Indigenous Excellence in Medicine
Watch the recording for a conversation with James Andrew, a member of Lil’wat Nation’s Mount Currie Band and Associate Director of Indigenous Initiatives at the Faculty of Medicine. James Andrew has been a source of inspiration and guidance in helping to create and transform the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s Indigenous MD Admissions Pathway. - UBC 23 24 Indigenous Cultural Safety: Creating Excellence in the Arenas of Truth, Reconciliation and Academia
Watch the recording for this Indigenous Speakers Series session with Dr. Nadine Caron, Dr. Gwendolyn Point and Courtney Smith to learn more about the work of cultural safety, cultural humility, and the broader work in regards to the recommendations from In Plain Sight, Truth and Reconciliation, and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan. - You Are On Indian Land: Crossing the Borders of Truth, Reconciliation and Redress
Watch the recording of “You Are On Indian Land: Crossing the Borders of Truth, Reconciliation and Redress.” In this event, we had a conversation with Grand Chief Mike Kanentakeron Mitchell of the Mohawks of Akwesasne, and director of You Are On Indian Land and we learnt more about the broader reach of truth, reconciliation and redress. - My Privilege, My Responsibility: A Higher Calling To Do Better in an Era of Truth, Reconciliation & Redress with Sheila North
Watch the recording of “My Privilege, My Responsibility: A Higher Calling To Do Better in an Era of Truth, Reconciliation & Redress with Sheila North” to learn about the activism of Sheila North, the creator of the widely used hashtag #MMIW – a movement that advocates for the end of violence against First Nations/ Indigenous women and girls. - Recording: We Are All That Is Possible: Indigenous Principles and Perspectives of Disability & Belonging with Joanne Mills
Watch the recording for a conversation with Joanne Mills. In this fourth session of the Indigenous Speaker Series, we had an opportunity to better inform our sensibilities and perceptions about Indigenous peoples whom are both challenged with, and gifted with, developmental disabilities. - Recording: Transformative Change According to Doug Kelly: Creating the BC First Nations Health Authority
Watch the recording of a conversation with Grand Chief Doug Kelly – Cheam First Nation. In this third session of the Indigenous Speaker Series, we learnt about the work and leadership of GC Doug Kelly in the creation of the First Nations Health Authority, and his experiences and insights as the former Chair of the First Nations Health Council. - Recording: Diagnosing Truth, Healing and Conciliation Inside BC Health Care Systems with Dr. Danièle Behn Smith
Watch the recording of a conversation with Dr. Danièle Behn Smith, Deputy Provincial Health Officer, Indigenous Health. In this second Indigenous Speaker Series session, Dr. Behn Smith’s shares her unique perspective on how health and academic systems can best approach the work in relation to the processes of Truth and Reconciliation. - We Are Children of Indian Residential School Survivors: Awakening Our Spirits, Our Purpose & Our Confidence
Thank you for joining us on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 from 12:00 pm – 3:30 pm (PST), for “We Are Children of Indian Residential School Survivors: Awakening Our Spirits, Our Purpose & Our Confidence”, the first session in this year’s Indigenous Speakers’ series. For those unable to attend a video recording is available.
Watch Recordings of Previous Sessions from the 2021-2022 Series
- Sorry, Not Sorry
- Healing Our Spirit
- Ni tipeyihtenan ōhi acimōwina. We Own These Stories. The Marrow.
- Niw_Hk_M_Kanak | All My Relations.
Continue Learning
“The time to make things happen is now. The time to seek out our individual and shared power is now.”
Read the Message from the Indigenous Initiatives Advisor, Derek Thompson – Thlaapkiituup, here
Learn more about REDI’s Indigenous Initiatives here
Discover REDI’s Indigenous-Specific Resources here