Speaking with Children and Young People About Truth and Reconciliation

In this heartfelt & accessible course, Monique responds 
to the question she often receives from 
parents, aunties, uncles, care providers, grandparents, coaches 
and others who love the young people in their lives:

How do I talk to kids about this?? 

In her singular way, Monique emphasizes our common humanity, 
speaks truth, shares love as medicine 
and offers digestible, practical and compassionate ways forward. 


If you have already purchased the course, 

Woven into six sections, Monique offers compassionate and practical tips to prepare for truth-telling and tender conversations. 


"I love all the metaphors... It really helped me visualize the concepts. It was very beautiful. Monique has a warmth that is tangible through the screen."
Learner, Canada


This self-led course is for you if:

  • You are a parent, step-parent, auntie, uncle, grandparent, sibling, coach, mentor - or anyone who has children and/or youth in your life that you care about. As they encounter and navigate the truths of our shared history, you can be there with them.
  • You want to develop your understanding of colonialism and its impacts, and deepen your knowledge of the shared history of Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
  • You want to start, or deepen a personal journey of reconciliation in a gentle and inspiring way.
"Monique is such a gentle, kind and caring presenter. This work takes a lot of heart, and hers radiates through."
Course participant


By the end of this course, you will:

  • Have begun or deepened you own personal journey of learning.
  • Feel more prepared and grounded in approaching or responding to conversations about Truth and Reconciliation.
  • Be familiar with some practical and developmentally-appropriate resources and strategies that you feel you could try with the young person or people in your life.
  • Deepen your knowledge of the truth. This includes increasing your awareness of federal, provincial and territorial legislation and policies that have and continue to impact Indigenous people.
  • Explore what Reconciliation means to you by developing your own personal definition, and identify action steps to weave the definition into your life.

I am looking forward to this journey with you!

Meet your teacher: Monique Gray Smith

Monique Gray Smith is a proud mom of twins, an award-winning, best-selling author and sought after consultant with over 30 years of experience. Monique’s first published novel, Tilly: A Story of Hope and Resilience won the 2014 Burt Award for First Nation, Métis and Inuit Literature.

Since then, Monique has had five books come out, including Speaking our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation. Speaking our Truth has won numerous awards, is a a Canadian Best Seller and a finalist for the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. It continues to be used across the country as a tool to educate the hearts and minds of both young and not so young readers. Monique’s latest release, Tilly and the Crazy Eights, is an adult novel about an epic road trip that reminds the reader of the power of the human spirit and that love is medicine.

Monique is Cree, Lakota and Scottish and has been sober and involved in her healing journey for over 29 years. She is well known for her storytelling, spirit of generosity and focus on resilience.