When Gord Downie, lead singer of the Tragically Hip, first heard the story of Chanie Wenjack, he wondered why he didn’t learn about residential schools when he was in school himself, shares Kayleigh O’Connor, who works for the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund and comes from a family of Cree heritage.

At 12 years old after spending three years at a Kenora, Ont. residential school, Wenjack escaped to reunite with his family 600 km away. A week after fleeing, his body was found near railway tracks. He had died from starvation and exposure.

“It was from a place of humility wondering why (Downie) hadn’t heard about Chanie Wenjack before, why he wasn’t taught about residential schools when he was growing up in Kingston, Ontario,” shares O’Connor. “And so he realized that if there was such a lack of knowledge on his part, this must be contributing to a lot of division and inequity for other people who also don’t know the real story of residential schools.”

The fund’s aim is to “build cultural understanding and create a path towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.”

Partnerships and projects committed to reconciliation

In June 2023, the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund in partnership with TAS Impact, an impact company based in Toronto, and the Walmer Road Baptist Church, located in the Annex neighbourhood of the city, launched their community “Legacy Space”: 38 Walmer Road.

“They had a mural installed outside, working closely with an Indigenous artist,” O’Connor adds. “They planted medicines and food in the garden out front that they were sharing and donating to Community Food Services. It’s a really special space.”

TAS Impact continues on the path towards reconciliation with Indigenous communities as they recently released their Reconciliation Action Plan in June 2024. For Mazyar Mortazavi, president and CEO of TAS Impact, this was a long time coming.

“We have been exploring our relationships with our Indigenous partners for quite a number of years,” he comments. “(But) we believe that in the absence of measurement, it’s hard to actually measure progress and outcomes. So we felt that for us to really make a meaningful difference around the reconciliation initiatives, we needed to have a plan in place.”

Reconciliation Action Plan: Integrating Indigenous principles, worldviews & languages into real estate development 

TAS Impact worked alongside Creative Fire, a 100 per cent Indigenous-owned consulting and communications firm, over the course of a year to define the framework. Rather than a path that’s set in stone, they view the Action Plan as a living document.

Sean Willy and Aiden Mauti of Creative Fire are excited about moving forward with next steps now that the Action Plan has finally been released. One of the six pillars, Stewardship and Placekeeping, has a focus on integrating Indigenous principles, worldviews and languages into real estate development projects. 

“Indigenous architects in the country right now are starting to put their stamp on projects and you’re seeing more things like shared rooms, shared spiritual rooms, shared round rooms, shared smudging rooms,” reflects Willy. 

Mauti also anticipates a growing demand for Indigenous architects in Canada as reconciliation practices become more commonplace in development spaces. 

“What we heard from the Indigenous architects we were working with is that there’s demand for about 500 Indigenous architects in Canada right now, and we have about five, so we have so little capacity,” Mauti comments.

The ‘why’ and being well-grounded in intentionality: A big principle for many Indigenous groups

Another pillar of the Action Plan is Ceremony, which can include components such as site activations, land ceremonies, storytelling and cultural events on development sites.

“To me, it’s a feeling, right?” adds Willy, who is also a band member of the Deninu Kųę́ First Nation of the Northwest Territories. “I’ve gone to some places that are very institutional, very cold, very 90-degree angles. But here when we’re doing our development plan, there’s a flow to it. It’s a holistic flow. Then you have these spaces. Safe spaces for ceremony, safe spaces for quiet time, safe spaces for connecting.”

Incorporating this pillar should go beyond aesthetic or visual appeal, in Mauti’s opinion.

“We really shouldn’t be doing this just for the sake of it,” Mauti says. “There’s a lot of intentionality behind (what we do), which is a big principle to a lot of Indigenous groups — making sure it’s well grounded in why we’re doing this.”

What does this mean for the city’s real estate development?

For Toronto’s real estate development space, this could mean taking a more holistic approach when it comes to designing both residential and commercial spaces.

“Our work is guided by a core belief that an ecosystem is far stronger than an isolated sort of element,” comments Mortazavi. “As we look at our buildings, when we can create a diversity of tenancies, we can allow them to collaborate and work together.”

Today, a year later, O’Connor still sees the positive impact at 38 Walmer Road. “People are really excited to have this in the community to learn from it and expand their view of Indigenous people,” she shares.

She sees a bright future ahead when it comes to creating more spaces that invite dialogue around reconciliation and hopes that can carry forward into future Indigenous-led projects throughout Canada.