Tanya Talaga on The Knowing
Description
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 and documentary series, 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.
Food & Drink
Food and drink aren't permitted in the theatre. The exception is a show with a bar or concession running — when there is one, we'll say so on the event page.
