Tanya Talaga delivers Atkinson Lecture at TMU

The lights go dim and a quiet hush falls over an auditorium seating more than 200 people. Tanya Talaga, Anishinaabe journalist and author, takes the stage for the 2025 Atkinson Lecture in the Chrysalis theatre on Mar. 5, 2025.

Journalism and storytelling is her home, Talaga said to the crowd gathered to hear her speak, as she shared excerpts from and the story behind her most recent work, The Knowing.

Produced as a book (external link)  and documentary series (external link) , The Knowing is a deeply personal and meticulously researched unravelling of the centuries-long oppression faced by Indigenous peoples in Canada.

At the mid-afternoon lecture, Talaga began by pointing out that journalists are often taught not to centre themselves in a story. In her case, that was impossible.

What began as a story about the kids who didn’t come back from residential schools, inspired after the 2021 discoveries of mass unmarked graves of Indigenous children across Canada, soon found a personal angle. As Talaga made clear to the crowd, every First Nations person knows someone who has been impacted by residential schools. She does too.

The Knowing, in addition to its research, follows a personal narrative about Talaga’s great-great-grandmother, Annie Carpenter, who was among those who went missing in Canada’s residential school systems, “Indian hospitals” and asylums. Talaga said in writing the original, fact-based story, she felt a persistent nagging from her ancestors in the back of her mind — and her mother, who wanted answers — to trace Annie’s story.

Standing in front of a slideshow backdrop displaying artifacts of her research, Talaga shared parts of her extensive process for The Knowing with the audience. By looking into census documents from 1881, she found Annie, her family and the surrounding families to them. Surprisingly, Talaga found that she had been in touch with the members of some of these families in her time as a reporter going up to the Albany River. She dove deeper into an investigation, where personal, present-day contacts intersected with historical data and research, ultimately leading her to find Annie. 

For Talaga, writing non-fiction stories like The Knowing comes naturally. She said she wishes she could write fiction, making up fantastical elements of a story as she goes. But “the story we find as journalists, you can’t believe it. But it’s all true,” she said. She can’t give up telling stories based in reality, especially at a time when she said denialism of the genocidal treatment of Indigenous and First Nations people is on the rise.

At the heart of Talaga’s investigation, which she shared at the Atkinson Lecture, was an important lesson to student journalists about the importance of building meaningful connections and seeking truth to the ends.

“How do you combat denialism? You combat denialism with truth,” she imparted on a room full of listeners. She invited them to learn more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s  (PDF file) 94 Calls to Action (external link)  and  (PDF file) 42 obligations by the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools, Kimberly Murray. 

As Talaga spoke, gentle typing from corners of the room echoed lightly. A few pens scribbling over paper noted down the lessons to take home from the lecture. Particularly for journalism students, it was an inspiring talk for Talaga that they hoped would shape their career.

“I think as a journalist, you have to recognize that your goal is to connect with people,” said Mariela Torroba Hennigen, a first-year master’s of journalism student. “Through that connection, you have to recognize there are gaps in your own knowledge and to connect you have to learn but also be willing to learn with people. I think the talk really highlighted that today.”

For first-year journalism student Quincy Lascelles, it was an enlightening experience to attend Talaga’s Atkinson Lecture.

“It made me rethink. Even though I thought I was educated about things having to do with residential schools, I feel like I'm not at all in comparison to what I have learned today,” they said.

Lascelles said they were particularly inspired by the in-depth research Talaga undertook for this project.

“If that kind of investigative journalism is still possible today, then we can accomplish so much,” they said.

A short reception followed the Atkinson Lecture where guests could snack or purchase a copy of The Knowing and have it signed by the author.

“I encourage people to come to the Atkinson Lecture every year. Hopefully they can also be fulfilled by what the speaker always sheds light on,” Torroba Hennigen said.

The Atkinson Lecture is made possible by an Atkinson Charitable Foundation endowment in honour of former Toronto Star publisher Joseph E. Atkinson. Saagajiwe, Journalism at The Creative School, TMU's Journalism Research Centre and the TMU Department of Criminology were all sponsors of this event.