Leticia Spence | Graphic Designer

CLIENTS
National Centre For Truth and Reconciliation
Canadian History Society

YEAR
2020-2022

PROJECT TYPE
Editorial Design

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
WEEK PUBLICATIONS

For three years starting in 2020 up to 2022, I had the immense pleasure and honour to work in collaboration with the Canadian History Society and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation on the Truth and Reconciliation Week Publications. When I was first approached, I was apprehensive about taking on this project because of the impact residential school has had on my family.

That being said, I decided to proceed forth because of that inner conflict about the concept of reconciliation. I’ve seen what colonization has done to my loved ones, to my community, and to our nation. Being a part of this project was a way for me to sort out my own thoughts, and to honour my father, who went to residential school and survived that experience.

I can’t tell you how happy I am in hindsight that I made that decision. I was able to grow a lot with each and every publication that I was given the opportunity to work on with Canadian History Society. I was able to work with brilliant minds and brilliant people who really do want to see a healed Kanata. I am very proud of these booklets, the messages that they share and the hope for the future that they are imbued with.

EVERY CHILD MATTERS

2020

Written by award-winning Indigenous author Monique Gray Smithlink opens in new window, this magazine, which is based on the Seven Sacred Teachings, is aimed for students in grades 5–12 and is available in both English and French.

Each chapter teaches children about residential schools, Treaties, and the historical and current relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

Accompanied by supplementary educational resources, the magazine is both a guide and a journal link opens in new window for young people as they explore their feelings, build confidence, and foster greater respect and empathy throughout their reconciliation journeys.

2021

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION WEEK

Co-edited by Ry Moran, who is a leading voice and catalyst for reconciliation, this publication explores truth, reconciliation and the promises of reconciliation from the perspective of home.

Home is the people and places we love. It’s relationships and roots. It’s where we are nurtured and where we thrive. Home is, after all, where the heart is. Since the arrival of settlers on these lands' shores, Indigenous peoples' homes and homelands have been dramatically reconfigured. Residential schools interrupted home life for generations of children.

Through an allegorical graphic novel-style comic written by Moran and illustrated by Swampy Cree artist Nickia McIvor, the publication explores what it means to have guests arrive at your doorstep and your home taken away and how we can still find ways to live well together.

To guide teachers in their own learning and to help bring truth and reconciliation into their classrooms, this publication will be accompanied by supplementary educational resources available in English and French. The magazine, intended for students in grades 5–12, is offered in print and digital formats in both English and French and available digitally in Inuktitut.

2022

REMEMBERING THE CHILDREN

Missing children and the existence of unmarked burial sites at residential schools across Canada have been well-known for decades among Indigenous communities. However, Canadians are still grappling with the truths about residential schools, spurring long-overdue conversations inside and outside the classroom.

Remembering the Children, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s publication for students, offers a way to begin those conversations. It takes readers to a variety of residential schools across time and space, opening a door into a past that reverberates today while also celebrating the resilience and resurgence of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples’ culture.

To guide teachers in their own learning and to help bring truth and reconciliation into their classrooms, this publication will be accompanied by supplementary educational resources available in English and French. The magazine, intended for students in grades 5–12, is offered in print and digital formats in both English and French.