Giving voice to Indigenous peoples: Is anyone listening?

Sixth Ryerson Democracy Forum focuses on truth and reconciliation.

Canadians talk of truth and reconciliation, but are we truly listening? Come hear two passionate and prominent Indigenous voices — bestselling author Tanya Talaga and outspoken parliamentarian Sol Mamakwa — tell their personal stories and talk about our political challenges. Bring your questions to the conversation hosted by Ryerson visiting practitioner Martin Regg Cohn and the Faculty of Arts.

Tanya Talaga is the bestselling author of Seven Fallen Feathers, winner of the RBC Taylor Prize, the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, and the First Nation Communities Read Award: Young Adult/Adult. She is also the author of the national bestseller All Our Relations: Finding The Path Forward. For more than 20 years Tanya has been a journalist and columnist at the Toronto Star.

Sol Mamakwa is the Member of Provincial Parliament representing the Kiiwetinoong riding for Ontario’s New Democratic Party. He is from Kingfisher Lake First Nation and is a resident of Sioux Lookout. His first language is Oji-Cree and he is a strong advocate for Indigenous language protection. First elected to the Legislature in 2018, he has spent his career working to improve health care delivery and transformation in the Treaty 9 territory.

Martin Regg Cohn is a political columnist for the Toronto Star. A foreign correspondent for 11 years, he was also Foreign Editor, a world affairs columnist, and covered national politics from Ottawa. He is a Visiting Practitioner at Ryerson University, and a Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

This venue is fully wheelchair accessible. Please contact tnebesna@torontomu.ca (opens in new window)  if you require any accessibility accommodations to ensure your full participation.