Name 

From Intention to Reciprocity: Practicing Relationship‑Led Reconciliation in Our Work

Speakers

Michelle Reid, BDC

Annie Kover, Rise Consulting

Description

Advancing Truth and Reconciliation requires more than good intentions. It calls for slowing down, building meaningful relationships, and centring reciprocity rather than extraction.

In this interactive 30‑minute session, participants will explore relationship and reciprocity as two essential anchors for Reconciliation‑focused work. Grounded in Indigenous worldviews and informed by the 7 R’s, the session invites reflection on where work may unintentionally take from communities, and what respectful, accountable, and sustaining reciprocity can look like in practice.

Participants will be introduced to the 7 R’s and Two‑Eyed Seeing (Etuaptmumk), a guiding principle developed by Mi’kmaw Elder Albert Marshall that holds Indigenous and Western ways of knowing together. Through this lens, participants will examine how decisions are made, who needs to be in relationship before action is taken, and how reciprocity can be intentionally practiced within their roles, organizations, and systems. In this session, participants will be guided to:

Cultivate new relationships

Collect insights that challenge current ways of working

Commit to a concrete action aligned with organizational purpose and advancing Truth, Reconciliation, and Indigenous inclusion

Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of reciprocity as a practice, not a transaction, and with a personal commitment to carry forward beyond the conference.