Leading from the North

There is no reconciliation without economic reconciliation. So why do we tend to shy away from talking about it? Perhaps too few of us understand what economic reconciliation means, beyond mere resource development. On this episode of Everyday Reconciliation, host Elin Miller speaks with Chief Leanne Joe, Transformative Storyteller for Economic Reconciliation with Simon Fraser University and one of sixteen hereditary chiefs of the Squamish First Nation about why economic reconciliation is hard to define, and why every Canadian should care about it.

On July 26, 2021, the first ever Indigenous governor general of Canada was sworn into office. Twenty-nine people preceded her in the role. In other words: about time. On this episode of Everyday Reconciliation, host Elin Miller speaks with Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Mary May Simon about her path to Rideau Hall, her plans as governor general, and her lifelong goal of building better understanding between Indigenous people and other Canadians.

Diplomacy is key for all nation-to-nation relationships. So why don’t we talk about it hand-in-hand with reconciliation? On this episode of Everyday Reconciliation, host Elin Miller speaks with Deborah Chatsis, former Ambassador to Vietnam and Guatemala, about life in the Canadian foreign service, representing Canada as an Indigenous person, and how we can - and should - approach nation-to-nation relationships within Canada with the same as we do around the globe.

The biggest shift in our fight against climate change came when we began putting a human face to the crisis. But that fight is far from over, and most people still don’t appreciate the human cost of our climate emergency. On this episode of Everyday Reconciliation, host Elin Miller speaks with Inuit activist Siila Watt-Cloutier on life in the North, her decades-long work tying human rights to climate activism, and using lessons from a traditional upbringing to turn the Arctic into a model of sustainability for the globe.

No one ever thinks of law as simple. But too many of us don’t appreciate one particular complexity: there are multiple legal orders that exist across Canada. And most of them are Indigenous. On this episode of Everyday Reconciliation, host Elin Miller speaks with Val Napoleon, an activist, educator, and the interim Dean of Law at University of Victoria, about Indigenous legal frameworks, and how essential they are to self-governance, Indigenous knowledge and culture, and reconciliation.

Colonialism isn’t yet in Canada’s rear-view mirror, especially for the First Nations of this land. Government intervention in First Nations’ governance and administration is a modern reality, and has wide-reaching effects in Indigenous communities. On this episode of Everyday Reconciliation, host Elin Miller speaks with Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Arlen Dumas, about his experience growing up on-reserve, understanding what it means for communities to be in “co-management”, and his optimism for the future of Indigenous sovereignty.Everyday Reconciliation is presented by Rio Tinto.

Indigenous women and men have signed up to serve and defend Canada in impressive numbers throughout history, an act that has often come at a very high price. On this episode of Everyday Reconciliation, host Elin Miller speaks to Sergeant (Sgt) (Ret'd) Derek Montour about what it means to serve your country and protect your community, and the difficulty of those two things being at odds with one another.Everyday Reconciliation is presented by Rio Tinto.

After the most recent federal election, there are 12 Indigenous MPs in the House of Commons. That’s just over 3.5% of sitting members, and suggests that representation is still a major hurdle on the road to reconciliation. On this episode of Everyday Reconciliation, host Elin Miller speaks to The Honourable Michael McLeod, the MP for the Northwest Territories about his life in politics, Indigenous representation in Canadian government, and what it takes to get a seat at the table.Note for listeners: this conversation was recorded before the results of the most recent Canadian federal election were finalised. The conversation indicates that there are 10 sitting Indigenous MPs, where as in actuality there are now 12.

Back in 2017, lots of Canadians were busy celebrating the150th anniversary of confederation. But to many, Canada 150 was rife with problems: Why was Ottawa spending half a billion dollars on a birthday party? Weren’t there better uses for the money, and the spotlight? And doesn’t celebrating confederation mean celebrating the systemic marginalization of the Indigenous peoples of this land? Instead of joining in the festivities, scholars Crystal Fraser and Sara Komarnisky took action. On this episode of Everyday Reconciliation, host Elin Miller speaks to them about their project: the 150 Acts of Reconciliation.

Almost six years after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) presented its 94 Calls to Action, only 13 have been completed. In this first episode of Everyday Reconciliation, host Elin Miller speaks to TRC commissioner Marie Wilson and former Premier of the Northwest Territories Stephen Kakfwi about what individual Canadians can do to help implement the Calls. Content warning: This conversation mentions sexual abuse and may be upsetting for some listeners.