Connie Walker speaks about her role in truth and reconciliation | MyNews | Seneca Students

On Thursday, March 6, we recognized International Women’s Day by hosting Connie Walker at The Meeting Place, Newnham Campus.

A Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award-winning journalist, Ms. Walker has been at the forefront of covering Indigenous stories for over 20 years. Her work helps audiences understand the truth and impact of our colonial history, emphasizing the importance of uncovering the truth for meaningful reconciliation.

March 8 is recognized around the world as International Women’s Day, a day intended to inspire and empower women through celebration, reflection and advocacy. With International Women’s Day falling on a Saturday this year, our event two days prior gave Seneca employees and attendees a rare opportunity to listen and learn from one of the world’s leading investigative journalists. A member of the Okanese First Nation in Saskatchewan, Ms. Walker generously shared details about her journalism origin story, where she learned early on that context was everything and was essential to explain, even if a story or news segment demanded a follow-up. 

Ms. Walker used these learnings to report on and reveal truths that had been hidden for decades. While she has received acclaim for her work across television, radio and print, she perhaps has received the most acclaim for her two award-winning podcasts:

• Missing & Murdered is a CBC News original podcast hosted by investigative reporter Connie Walker. The podcast delves into the disappearances and murders of Indigenous people in Canada, focusing on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis. The podcast has received critical acclaim for its in-depth storytelling and has won several awards, including the Best Serialized Story at the 2018 Third Coast International Audio Festival.
• Stolen is considered one of the most comprehensive investigations into a single residential school. It exposed systemic abuse that permeated St. Michael’s Indian Residential School in Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, for decades and preserved the testimonies of survivors through a modern-day oral history project. In 2023, Stolen won a Pulitzer Prize and a Peabody Award, becoming the first podcast to win both awards in the same year. It also won an Edward R. Murrow Award, an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award, and a National Magazine Award from the American Society of Magazine Editors.

The event was a powerful reminder of the critical role journalism plays in fostering understanding and change, and the long road that remains to reaching true reconciliation with our Indigenous communities.

We extend immense gratitude to Ms. Walker for joining us and presenting details and learnings from her important journalism. Attendees and non-attendees alike are encouraged to listen to Ms. Walker's podcasts and reflect on these important stories shared.