Annual Public Lecture in Yellowknife, 2025
Dene storyteller and legal scholar Katlia Lafferty exposes the ongoing environmental injustices faced by Indigenous communities in the Northwest Territories, from the toxic legacy of Giant Mine to the unspoken human costs of Port Radium and uranium extraction.
She reveals how “Reconciliation” rings hollow while lands remain poisoned, rights are constrained, and governments still treat territory as a commodity rather than a living relative.
Katlia calls for Indigenous-led climate solutions, grounded in ancestral knowledge, rights to the land, and responsibility to future generations.
At the intersection of storytelling, prophecy, and legal insight, this lecture asks a defining question: How can Canada claim reconciliation while the land still grieves?
True reconciliation begins when we restore our relationship with the land and stand alongside Indigenous leadership to protect our shared future.
This conference is inspired by and shared in memory of Sarah Robinson, Action Canada Fellow 2014/15, whose mission was to foster dialogue among policymakers on Indigenous histories, reconciliation, and action. To honor Sarah’s legacy, Action Canada launched an annual lecture series on Reconciliation and Public Policy. In November 2025, we held our fifth lecture during the study tour to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
This lecture was delivered by Action Canada and the Public Policy Forum, in partnership with Indspire: Rivers to Success, Definity, Donner Canadian Foundation and Canadian Heritage.
