September 30th is Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — a day to honour the children who never returned home from residential schools, the survivors who carry that legacy, and the families and communities still healing today.
This guide is designed to help organizations mark the day with intention, sharing a curated selection of leading Indigenous speakers whose presentations spark meaningful dialogue, deepen understanding, and inspire action — not just on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, but throughout the year. Contact us to learn more.
Truth and Reconciliation Speakers
These Indigenous leaders bring lived experience, expertise, and powerful storytelling to help your organization engage with truth and reconciliation in a meaningful and lasting way.
Tanya Talaga
All Our Relations: Finding the Path Forward
Award-winning Anishinaabe journalist and bestselling author Tanya Talaga brings Canada’s history into sharp focus through an Indigenous lens — tracing how we arrived here and what a more equitable future could look like.
Drawing from her acclaimed books, she weaves together themes of Indigenous knowledge, climate stewardship, and the Seven Grandfather Teachings to chart a meaningful path forward.
Chief Perry Bellegarde
Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples: A Leader’s Look at the Past, Present, and Future
With 35 years of First Nations leadership — including two terms as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations — Chief Perry Bellegarde offers audiences a practical roadmap for turning reconciliation aspirations into meaningful action.
He explores Canada’s evolving political and legal landscape while exploring the First Nations values and principles
Connie Walker
Truth Before Reconciliation
Named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2024, Connie Walker is a Pulitzer Prize- and Peabody Award-winning journalist whose work has exposed the crisis of violence in Indigenous communities and the lasting legacy of residential schools.
Drawing on her acclaimed podcast Stolen, Connie makes a compelling case for why uncovering the truth is an essential first step toward meaningful reconciliation.
The Hon. Jody Wilson-Raybould
True Reconciliation: How to Be a Force for Change
As Canada’s first Indigenous Minister of Justice, the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould brings rare insight to one of the most urgent questions facing Canadians: what can I actually do to advance reconciliation?
Drawing from her bestselling book True Reconciliation, she challenges audiences to move beyond performative gestures and become genuine agents of change — building transformed relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples at every level of society.
Duncan McCue
Beyond Land Acknowledgements: Working with Indigenous Peoples
Award-winning CBC broadcaster Duncan McCue has spent over two decades helping organizations move beyond surface-level gestures toward genuinely respectful relationships with Indigenous communities.
Drawing on his experience reforming newsrooms across Canada and the world, Duncan distills practical lessons into an engaging presentation that equips audiences with meaningful approaches to reconciliation and sparking lasting social change.
Jennifer Ménard-Shand
Moving Reconciliation Forward
As a First Nations Ojibwe and French-Canadian entrepreneur, Jennifer Ménard-Shand brings a deeply personal and uplifting perspective to reconciliation — one rooted in lived experience, forgiveness, and the healing power of storytelling.
Through her remarkable journey from trauma to thriving business owner, she shows how individuals and organizations can honour our shared history with empathy and courage, and use their unique gifts to build meaningful bridges.
Contact us today to book a speaker for your National Day for Truth and Reconciliation event.
