Thank you for joining us on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025, from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM (PST), for “To Bear Witness: A Meaningful Conversation about my Mom on Belonging and Perseverance.” In this Indigenous Speakers Series session, we bore witness to a meaningful conversation between Derek Thompson and Maï Yasué, Associate Director of the REDI Office, about Derek’s mom, Maude Thompson. Maude was originally scheduled to be the guest speaker, but she sadly passed away a month before the event. A Haisla First Nations woman and Survivor of the Indian Residential School system, Maude was a thoughtful, generous and loving human being —a Mom, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, Auntie, Sister, and Daughter—who persevered in the face of incredible hardships. For nearly 40 years, Maude served as a cook for the Tsow-tun Le Lum Society – Substance Use and Trauma Treatment Centre providing nourishment, love, support, care, and inspiration to thousands of First Nations and Indigenous people.
In memory of Maude and in honour of her life and legacy, donations can be made to the Tsow-tun Lelum Society Substance Use and Trauma Treatment Centre, where she dedicated nearly 40 years of service.
Maude Thompson,
Mom & Chef
Maude was originally scheduled to be the guest speaker, but she sadly passed away a month before the event. In her honour, we will bear witness to a meaningful conversation between Derek Thompson and Maï Yasué, Associate Director of the REDI Office, about his mother, Maude Thompson.
Derek K Thompson – Čaabať Bookwilla | Suhiltun, Proud Son & Director, Indigenous Engagement
Maï Yasué,
Associate Director of the REDI Office
Description
Written by Derek K Thompson – Čaabať Bookwilla | Suhiltun, Proud Son
On June 11th, 2008, my Mom, Maude Thompson, was in the public gallery in the House of Commons in Ottawa to bear witness to the formal statement of apology to former students of the Indian Residential School experience in Canada. My Mom has always stated over the course of her life that all she ever wanted was for someone responsible to apologize for the wrongs committed against her as a little girl while she was at the Alberni Indian Residential School. She also talks about the tensions between belonging and being dispossessed of identity, culture and language, the conflict between truth and the not-so-straight-forward-ability to be truthful, the anxieties of trying to make sense of the past and to create the opportunity for your children and grandchildren to thrive, and the goodness that comes from being generous, mindful and dignified in spite of your adversities.
My Mom has told me that she has nothing to offer whenever I’ve asked her to consider speaking in this important series, and now she’s finally agreed to be here so that her and I can talk about these important issues within the context of truth, reconciliation and redress. She has a lot to offer about her experiences as survivor of the Indian residential school experience, as a First Nations – Haisla woman, as a thoughtful and generous human being, and as a Mom, a Grandmother, a Great-Grandmother, an Auntie, a Sister, a Daughter, and as a woman who has persevered in the face of incredible hardship.
My Mom has been a cook for the Tsow-tun Le Lum Society – Substance Use and Trauma Treatment Centre for nearly 40 years, and she’s been a source of love, support, care, and inspiration for thousands of First Nations and Indigenous people. Wherever I’ve worked over the years across BC, nearly every time someone comes up to me and tells me about a fond memory they have of my Mom – a favourite meal she cooked, how she listened when seemingly no one else did, a shoulder to cry on, she became the Auntie or Mom they never had, and many other touching stories. My Mom has created an enduring legacy in the lives of many people and has given so much of herself unconditionally, and she’s done so all in an effort to simply belong and in doing so to make others feel like they also belong.
Topic: To Bear Witness: A Meaningful Conversation about my Mom on Belonging and Perseverance
Date: Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025
Time: 12:00 – 2:00 PM (PST)
What Will I Learn?
You will learn about a unique perspective about the processes of truth and reconciliation.
Continue Learning
“The time to make things happen is now. The time to seek out our individual and shared power is now.”
Learn more about REDI’s Indigenous Initiatives here
Discover more about REDI’s Indigenous Initiatives Speakers Series here
Find REDI’s Indigenous-Specific Resources here