Pat at her booth: Pat’s Ribbon Skirts/Crafts. The retired warehouse worker is unearthing childhood craft skills to keep busy, but it is a process of learning and relearning. PHOTO: NADOO ABAAGU 
Jamie and Karen’s booth features all sorts of creations from their Metis women’s group, but the tee shirt slogans draw the most attention. Jamie’s husband designed them for Jamie, who everyone says doesn’t look Metis. PHOTO: NADOO ABAAGU 
Guests explore an Indigenous artisan market before Marie Wilson’s discussion and signing of her new book North of Nowhere. PHOTO: NADOO ABAAGU 
Loren McGinnis (left) CBC radio host, interviews Marie Wilson (right). He guides the discussion around the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Wilson’s recently released book, North of Nowhere: Song of a Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner. PHOTO: NADOO ABAAGU 
Guests feel a mix of emotions. It is a diverse group made up of the young and old, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, survivors of residential schools and the first generations of children not to attend residential schools. PHOTO: NADOO ABAAGU 
A helper passes out cards; on one side is a declaration of dedication to witness reconciliation. On the other is an Indigenous response of acceptance and understanding. PHOTO: NADOO ABAAGU 
Marie Wilson on Mount Royal University Campus, signs covers of her book North Of Nowhere, while a line half the length of the hall extends behind her. All waiting for their turn to speak with Wilson and take photos with their newly bought and signed books. PHOTO: NADOO ABAAGU
“We will center and amplify Indigenous voices, stories and teachings,” echoed through Mount Royal University’s Ross Glen Hall. “We will advocate for systematic change and work toward decolonization,” chanted the hundreds of voices.
These promises, made during an oath-taking ceremony, signalled a new or continued commitment to reconciliation after hearing from Marie Wilson, one of three former commissioners of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) and the main speaker of the weekend event.
From 2009 to 2015, the TRC toured the country, collecting thousands of testimonies from survivors of the residential school system and documenting the lasting harm it caused. In 2015, the commission produced a final report, including 94 Calls to Action, designed to hold Canada accountable for the legacy of residential schools and provide a path forward for measurable policy actions.
Ten years later, the work continues.
“I’ve seen things that have been so uplifting,” said Wilson in an interview with the Calgary Journal. “There are also lots of examples of where things are not getting better – they’re getting worse. I’m not blind to that, but it’s not a reason to let up.”
She notes feeling encouraged by the emergence of community groups taking the initiative in reconciliation efforts, such as Witnesses to ReconciliACTION, a local organization formed around Wilson’s visit to Calgary with plans to continue working together in the future.
“There are people who care,” she said. “There are people who are coming together and creating new bonds of community, and that’s always a source of great strength.”
The unfinished work of reconciliation
Witnesses to ReconciliACTION arranged the event at Ross Glen Hall in collaboration with MRU’s Office of Indigenization and Decolonization.
It also featured an Indigenous artisan market and singing, drumming and dancing.
Wilson shared insights from her experience on the TRC and read excerpts from her memoir, North of Nowhere: Song of a Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner, published in 2024. She said that writing the book was something she could do to help safeguard the history gained through the TRC’s actions.
As the only woman and non-Indigenous commissioner, she holds a unique perspective from the TRC’s work gathering testimonies.
“It’s a big job, and it’s not finished,” Wilson said. “The story is not fully written. Do what you can do, and inspire others to do what they can do.”
Facing our history
Among the 300 people at the event, Aaron Many Guns, from the Siksika First Nation, recalled the culture of silence surrounding residential schools and the damage they caused.
“There are people like me that lived through that kind of stuff. I went to day school, never residential school, but my parents are survivors. It really affected their lives. My dad — he kind of fell apart for a while. But he came back.
“It’s good to hear people like this are spreading the word.”
Many Guns attended Crowfoot Residential School, which opened in 1900 and started as a day school in 1950. In 1909, 22 out of 29 of the overcrowded school’s children had tuberculosis. The school closed in 1968.
Now, as a student at MRU, Many Guns is facing Canada’s history head-on.
“I’m going back to university at over sixty years old and learning about the root of the problem,” he said. “It’s the doctrine of discovery. It comes right down to it – right from the start. The Pope signed a decree and allowed that to happen.”
Many Guns hopes his return to school demonstrates a resiliency shared by many in his community.
“Hopefully, people see the dancers and the singers that were here,” he said. “We’re still trying to get our voice back. I just want to help spread the word that we’re still here, our art is still here too.”