The Path to Reconciliation | Sandi Boucher

Sandi Boucher is an indigenous Engagement & Empowerment Facilitator at SandiBoucher.com.

Sandi is an internationally recognized and much-loved speaker, thought leader, television host, seminar facilitator and best-selling author who has dedicated most of her life to Indigenous inclusion, empowerment, and engagement. Now her "puzzle pieces" have come together in "The PATH", Sandi's newest book that outlines the path Indigenous and non-Indigenous must take to get us to and through reconciliation.

Known for her passionate and empowering speaking style that speaks "to hearts, not minds", Sandi's audiences include elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools; colleges and universities; First Nation communities and agencies; mainstream municipalities and businesses, along with countless national, international, and regional conferences.

A proud member of Seine River First Nation in northern Ontario, Canada, Sandi has made Thunder Bay, Ontario her home for more than 25 years, a city nationally recognized for its anti-Indigenous racism. In Sandi's mind, this makes Thunder Bay the perfect place for "The PATH" to start.

Named both the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year and the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund Business Woman of the Year in 2016, Sandi is committed to her audiences, leaving an impression wherever she speaks.

In this episode Sandi shares a part of Canadian history that many people have never heard about, and most that have, don’t understand what really happened. Beginning in 1880, the Government of Canada removed Indigenous children, beginning at the age of 4, and forced them into residential schools. Believe it or not, this practice carried on for 100 years! In some families five generations of children were separated from their families, in what Macleans Magazine called “a flat-out mission of assimilation into white society.” https://www.macleans.ca/society/why-our-kids-need-to-learn-about-residential-schools/

I consider myself to be socially aware and educated. I mean I do have a degree in History from the University of Toronto. Canada’s largest and one of the most respected universities in the country. How is it possible that I didn’t know about this until very recently. It’s impossible to believe, but it is true.

Finding a path to reconciliation between an indigenous community that has been so badly wronged, and the broader Canadian population, including a growing number of immigrants, is a seemingly impossible task. Not for Sandi Boucher. Sandi talks about the importance of everyone understanding the social lens we use to view the world, and is on a mission to educate people on boths sides of the equation and help them contribute to and find reconciliation.  

You can reach Sandi:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandiboucher/

Website: https://sandiboucher.com/

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, and stories, or just make a connection.

Email [email protected]

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