Q&A: Mi'kmaw filmmaker Noel Joe speaks about his own decades-long reconciliation efforts

For Noel Joe, the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission — which nearly a decade ago issued 94 calls to action for changes in Indigenous child welfare, education and access to high-quality health care — is far more than words on paper. 

The commission was formed in 2008 to examine the mistreatment of Indigenous people in Canada, and completed its final report in 2015. 

Joe, a Mi'kmaw filmmaker from Miawpukek First Nation, works toward truth and reconciliation in both his career and his life. 

From teaching the urban Indigenous community Mi'kmaw cultural practices — like how to build a birch canoe — to sharing Mi'kmaw history through film, he has been taking action toward truth and reconciliation for decades.

Joe recently spoke with the CBC's Amanda Gear. Their conversation has been edited for length and clarity. 

Q: Noel, what does reconciliation mean to you?

A: Reconciliation means a lot of things. It means forgiveness. It means connecting, sharing. It means healing. 

You know, it's funny, because growing up I didn't hear the word reconciliation. It wasn't on people's minds as it is now. It means forgiveness. It means telling our stories and sharing our stories and it means listening. It means hope and inspiration.

All those things wrapped up in one big word. 

How do you, both personally and professionally, put reconciliation and truth into action?

I just live it every day and continue to tell our stories and continue to share who we are. I've been a part of so many wonderful things and it was all about sharing. It is all about having those teaching moments.

Indigenous people sharing our story is reconciliation in action. It's just an everyday thing. It's not a one-day thing, it's 365 days a year that you put words and action together. You go and you do the work and you do it with forgiveness in your heart. You do it with pride and honour.

I know growing up my dad always said, when we were talking or if we got in a heated argument, "There's only one person speaking and we need to listen. We listen with two ears and we speak with one heart and one mind."

Listening, trying to share and find teachable moments for ours, for our allies and for those who maybe do not even understand what it means to be Indigenous or haven't heard the stories or haven't heard the tragedy that we've gone through historically. 

You share so much of the Mi'kmaw culture in all that you do, from showing people how to make traditional birch bark canoes, to being involved in both provincial and Indigenous governance, and through sharing your documentary with schools and talking to youth about the history of Conne River. What role does all that play in reconciliation?

That plays a big role. I speak about forgiveness — we need to carry that in our hearts a lot.

It's humbling to go out into the community, to go into organizations and schools to share our story. There is just so much support that is out there from non-Indigenous people, but they also carry the burden. And, it's a burden for us.

I have not given a whole lot of thought to reconciliation because I was so busy actually doing the work. 

There is a lot of work around reconciliation and addressing systemic racism in institutions. We all can get there. It's going to take some time. There's a lot of scars to be healed. There's 500 years of scars and those are not going to be healed overnight. 

It takes time to heal and it takes compassion, it takes listening to be able to right those wrongs and be able to come together in a space where everyone is equal.

Have you seen any changes in how people are engaging in reconciliation in the past few years?

I've seen so much change in the last three or four years around reconciliation, around truth and the calls to action. It's so great to be able to listen to the radio and hear Indigenous music and familiar voices and familiar faces on TV. Years ago you wouldn't hear or see that.

I'll tell you a story about my years here in St. John's. In my former junior high school, I was the only Indigenous Mi'kmaw person in that school. There were a lot of questions back then like, "Do you know what pizza is? And do you live in teepees? And do you know what Kraft Dinner is?"

We've moved past that now. 

WATCH | Hope and inspiration means reconciliation to this Mi'kmaw knowledge keeper:

Truth and reconciliation happens every day, and is different for everyone, says doc filmmaker

2 months ago

Duration 2:37

Noel Joe has been a part of provincial and Indigenous governments, is a documentary filmmaker and a Mi’kmaw knowledge keeper. He spoke to the CBC’s Amanda Gear about the optimism he feels and practices when it comes to the topic.

You're going into schools and sharing your documentary about the hunger strike in Conne River and what that did for your community. What's the reaction from students when you go in, and how does that differ from when you were in junior high sharing your story and your culture?

The reaction is different every time. For example, I can remember one student asking us, why were colonizers so mean? There's a lot of questions, there's a lot of new questions, but there's a lot of meaningful questions. It's not "Do you eat Kraft Dinner?" The questions have morphed toward, "Why can't we get along? And why was there so much hurt in the past?" 

It's so rewarding to see that the relationship has changed so drastically. I think mindsets and hearts have changed.

I think that the future is hopeful. When you look at our youth, especially our Indigenous youth, we are in good hands for the future. It can only get better from here.

So with all the changes that you've seen in regard to reconciliation, how can non-Indigenous people respectfully engage in the act of reconciliation?

They can listen. Continue to listen with open minds and open ears.

I heard a radio ad that's leading up to Truth and Reconciliation Day and it said that Sept. 30 is a day to listen. We should be listening 365 days a year.

We are working toward the spirit of truth and reconciliation.

We're not there yet. It will take time, but as long as we stay committed and continue to listen with an open mind, we will get there. 

The Signal916:23:20The making of The Forgotten Warriors

\nToday's show looks at the making of The Forgotten Warriors, a documentary that tells the story of a nine-day hunger strike by Mi'kmaw activists in 1983. Host Adam Walsh speaks with first-time filmmaker Noel Joe and producer Roger Maunder. 

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