The Office of the Treaty Commissioner’s Treaty Learning Journey: Let’s Talk Truth Conference, held at the end of October, was a success.

More than 160 people filled the conference room at the Travelodge in Saskatoon for discussion and learning on Indigenous culture and worldview, life before Treaties, Treaty-making and the historical Numbered Treaties, the Spirit and Intent of Treaties, breaches of Treaty, and modern Indigenous issues.

“Everyone was excited to learn. There was a lot of active participation and questions, which kept the conversation flowing,” said Charmaine Gardiner, the OTC’s Treaty Learning Network Coordinator.

Like any difficult conversation and topic, there were laughter, tears, and hugs, as people heard about the lasting impacts of residential schools.

The sessions were led by Elaine Sutherland, OTC director of Treaty Education as well as members of the OTC Speaker’s Bureau: Lyndon Linklater and Sharon Meyer. The keynote speaker on the opening day of the conference was Dr. Kathy Walker, the new Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan.

To follow each session, we had Keep the Conversations Going discussions led by amazing facilitators which included Cort Dogniez, Angela Cousins, and Dale Worme. There were also facilitated groups on how to bring the learnings into a classroom setting targeted for educators.

Support staff was available throughout the conference, including Elders and the Yorkton Tribal Council mental health support workers.

During lunch each day, there was entertainment, including drummers led by TJ Warren, and the father-son duo the Boyer Boys fiddling, with participants jigging.

Many participants expressed their gratitude to the OTC team for the valuable learning opportunity and emphasized how important the storytelling was in making the information relatable.

In the days following the conference, a number of people have reached out to let the OTC know they are encouraging their management teams to host the Treaty Learning Journey: Let’s Talk Truth for their organizations, so all of their co-workers can gain the same knowledge and understanding.