Reconciliation empowered by learning was Senator Murray Sinclair’s lifelong calling. As a Canadian, I am thankful for his leadership and legacy. He lived a remarkable life of accomplishments as a lawyer, Manitoba’s first Anishinaabe judge, a senator, and chair of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which has reshaped public awareness and Canada’s legal system.

Senator Sinclair’s spirit name was Mizhana Gheezhik, meaning “The One Who Speaks of Pictures in the Sky.” Can any name be more fitting? In this blog, I want to highlight some of his achievements in fighting for the rights of Indigenous Peoples. I will also share his impact on Redwood’s experience delivering what Senator Sinclair considered the cornerstone of reconciliation—learning.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission

From 2009 to 2015, Murray Sinclair was chair of the TRC. The overarching focus of the commission was to address what many consider Canada’s most shameful legacy: the forceable removal of Indigenous children from their homes and subsequent placement in Residential Schools.  The intent was to erase Indigenous cultural identity. As a result, children suffered abuse, neglect, and intergenerational trauma that exists to this day.

The TRC collected thousands of testimonies from the survivors and families of those impacted by the Residential School system. The objective was to create an environment where speaking the truth would lead to healing. Perhaps for the first time, Canada’s non-Indigenous population recognized the true impact of injustices inflicted on Indigenous Peoples. That recognition is now seared in the Canadian consciousness.  

Murray Sinclair Was a Champion of Learning

He achieved much, but I’d like to focus on one quality aligned with our mission at Redwood: the importance of learning in our private, professional, and national lives. Senator Sinclair famously stated about Residential Schools, “It was education that got us into this mess, and it will be education that will get us out.”

He passionately believed that learning was the only effective way to overcome ignorance and prejudice. Moreover, he recognized that we must all understand our colonial past to have a meaningful national conversation about reconciliation.    

What Indigenous knowledge and perspectives bring to Canada

Indigenous societies value community, spirituality, emotional intelligence, and relationships. Indigenous education is also inseparable from the land and reflects a deep appreciation of sustainability and ecological stewardship. Practices, such as cultural burning, have been used for centuries to reduce the risks of devastating infernos.  

One of the TRC’s most important benefits was the recognition of Indigenous worldviews, societal beliefs, and traditional land stewardship. These time-proven practices offer resource management lessons and practical tools for confronting today’s pressing environmental challenges, including climate change.

Redwood experienced this firsthand while working on a recent project produced for Engineers and Geoscientists B.C. We collaborated closely with a team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous subject matter experts to design and create a project that reflected the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action. This forward-thinking organization provides an ideal example of how Canadians can work together to achieve the TRC’s objectives.

Naline Morin, member of the Tahltan Nation and Principal ArrowBlade Consulting, perfectly expressed the mutual benefits of deeper engagement:

“We do a lot of work as engineers to understand the landscape, but the work with First Nations Peoples takes it to a whole new level…their intimate knowledge of the land provides information and values that quite often you can’t get from a book, and you can’t get from a predictive model. So, if you take that information and integrate it – link it to the science – you are able to develop a more comprehensive, more acceptable design.”

For Truth and Reconciliation to succeed, all Canadians must learn more about Indigenous history, culture, and contributions. This challenging objective won’t be met overnight; it will likely span generations. But thanks to Murray Sinclair’s power and passion, we couldn’t have a more inspirational beacon.

Wab Kinew, Premier of Manitoba, said, “It will be a long time before our nation produces another person of the calibre of Murray Sinclair. He showed us there is no reconciliation without truth.”

We heartily concur and humbly add that there is no truth without learning.