Who We Are

Shortlisted for the First Nations Community READ

Named a Book to Read This Fall by CBC Books and the Toronto Star • One of Indigo’s Most Anticipated Books and Top 100 Books of 2024 • An Audible Best Book of 2024 • One of Kobo CA’s Best Biography and Memoir Ebooks of the Year • One of CBC’s Best Canadian Nonfiction of 2024

“Who We Are is a very special, very important book. With deep humility, surprising humour, and abiding humanity—all the ‘humes,’ if you will—Murray Sinclair made me feel as though I was sitting beside him at a campfire, listening to stories and teachings from his most remarkable life. I could hear his voice. I could feel the fire. I could imagine a better world. But Murray Sinclair asks us to do more than imagine it. By sharing with unflinching honesty what shaped him as a visionary leader, he calls us to change the world, to make it better for each new generation, and to honour the sacredness of Creation. I will return to Who We Are again and again, for his stories, his soulful poems, and his guidance. This book, so much about understanding where we have come from, is a gift to where we are going.”
—Shelagh Rogers, O.C., Chancellor of Queen’s University and Honorary Witness in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

“It would be impossible to quantify Murray Sinclair’s impact on this place that we call Canada. He’s said that since education got us into this mess, education must get us out of it. If that’s true, and I believe it is, he is one of our most important teachers. The pursuit of reconciliation takes place on a long and winding road. It will take generations to reach our destination, but this book and Sinclair’s voice will stand the test of time, guiding us in his wisdom and the example he has set in how he has lived his life.”
—David A. Robertson, bestselling author of the Misewa Saga Series

“This book is a testament to, and reflects the legacy of, a life of service, leadership, and resilience. There are lessons we can all take from these reflections on a life’s journey, and on the journey of Canada.”
—Jody Wilson-Raybould, bestselling author of True Reconciliation and ‘Indian’ in the Cabinet

Murray Sinclair

Senator Murray Sinclair is a former judge with twenty-eight years of experience. He holds the distinction of being the first Indigenous judge appointed in Manitoba and the second in Canada. He played a significant role as Co-Chair of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry in Manitoba and served as Chief Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). In his capacity as head of the TRC, he participated in numerous hearings across Canada, which led to the publication of the TRC’s report in 2015. He has also served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Manitoba. Senator Sinclair has received a multitude of accolades, including the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, the Manitoba Bar Association’s Equality Award (2001) and its Distinguished Service Award (2016), and has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from fourteen Canadian universities. He was appointed to the Senate on April 2, 2016.

Sara Sinclair

Sara Sinclair is an oral historian of Cree-Ojibwa and mixed settler heritage. She teaches in the Oral History Master of Arts Program at Columbia University and is the Project Director of the Aryeh Neier Oral History Project at the Columbia Center for Oral History Research (CCOHR). Recently, Sara edited the memoir of former Canadian Senator and Chief Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Murray Sinclair (McClelland & Stewart, 2024). Alongside Stephanie Sinclair, she is co-editing two anthologies of Indigenous letters for Penguin/Random House Canada. Her previous work includes editing How We Go Home: Voices from Indigenous North America (2020, Voice of Witness/Haymarket Books). Sara has also contributed to several oral history projects at the Columbia Center for Oral History Research, including the Covid-19 Oral History, Narrative and Memory Archive, the Obama Presidency Oral History, and the Robert Rauschenberg Oral History Project. With Peter Bearman and Mary Marshall Clark, she co-edited Robert Rauschenberg: An Oral History (2019, Columbia University Press). Her professional experience includes work with various institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of the City of New York, and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Sara has been an invited speaker at numerous academic institutions, including Berkeley College, Bard College, Haverford College, Brooklyn College, Cooper Union, and the Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour (UPPA) in France. She holds an M.A. in Oral History from Columbia University.

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