The Jack Matthews Fellowship Community Speaker Series Lecture featuring Marie Wilson

About “North of Nowhere, Song of a Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner”:

“The incomparable first-hand account of the historic Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada told by one of the commissioners who led it.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to record the previously hidden history of more than a century of forced residential schooling for Indigenous children. Marie Wilson helped lead that work as one of just three commissioners. With the skills of a journalist, the heart of a mother and grandmother, and the insights of a life as the spouse of a residential school survivor, Commissioner Wilson guides readers through her years witnessing survivor testimony across the country, providing her unique perspective on the personal toll and enduring public value of the commission. In this unparalleled account, she honours the voices of survivors who have called Canada to attention, determined to heal, reclaim, and thrive.

Part vital public documentary, part probing memoir, North of Nowhere breathes fresh air into the possibilities of reconciliation amid the persistent legacy of residential schools. It is a call to everyone to view the important and continuing work of reconciliation not as an obligation but as a gift.”

About the Jack Matthews Fellowship:

The Jack Matthews Fellowship is named in honour of one of the founders of The Canadian Canoe Museum, who also founded the International Program at Trent University and was a Headmaster of Lakefield College School. Every year a fellow is chosen who embodies the value of those institutions, and the legendary spirit of Canadian global citizenship that was Jack Matthews’ vision.

As part of the Jack Matthews Fellowship, The Canadian Canoe Museum hosts an annual community event in the fall alongside Trent University and Lakefield College School.