A Foundation for Year-Round Reconciliation

Over the past two years, a friendship has been growing. What started as a simple meet-and-greet has grown into something much more personal.

“When you meet Elder Reg and Elder Rose, you know you’re with people who have a deep capacity for caring,” explains Trina Aburto, Manager, Community Relations & Investment based in Calgary, Alberta. “They’re so generous with their time and their knowledge, and it’s so important to the success of this initiative.”

While Dr. Reg Crowshoe and Elder Rose Crowshoe are known for many achievements, including being appointed as Members of the Order of Canada in 2022, at Nutrien we have had the privilege of getting to know them through the Elders Knowledge Circle Society.

“Over the last couple of years, I’ve been honored to participate in conversations, events and ceremony with members of the Elders Knowledge Circle Society and have heard many Elders share the truth of their experience with residential schools and the resulting intergenerational trauma,” explains Trina. “And what blows me away every time, is their capacity to see a future where things are better. For their belief that we can all work together to see all people in this country thrive.”

On September 30, the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation in Canada, Nutrien employees had the opportunity, for the second year in a row, to attend the Elders Story Project, led by Elder Reg and Elder Rose. Participants were invited to bear witness to the true experiences shared by the Elders onstage at Arts Commons and hear about the ways in which suffering continues. While also experiencing the powerful resilience of Indigenous Peoples, those in attendance listened as some Elders spoke in the languages they were punished for speaking in residential schools.

Reconciliation cannot be accomplished in one day, and so we value the truths shared with us on this important day and how they can support our ability to listen carefully and engage early, often and authentically every day.

About the Elders Knowledge Circle Society

(source: Elders Story Project)

The EKCS is a First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Elder-led "collective”. All Elders have experience with residential and day schools as survivors or as family members of children who attended residential schools and day schools.

The overarching goals of the EKCS are to:

• Create a sustainable model to protect, revitalize and share stories, language, oral knowledge and practice;
• Bridge the gap in cultural understanding and reconciliation to allow the transfer of knowledge to the next generations;
• Serve as a centralized resource for Western organizations (public, private, and non-profit) to consult with Elders and Indigenous communities using appropriate protocols.
• Establish a centralized place where knowledge and wisdom from Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, will be preserved, protected, revitalized, and shared.