Facilitated by Hélène Pourcelot, a PhD candidate at the School of Social Work, the gathering offered a space for sincere and profound dialogue on the contemporary role of fathers, the challenges they face, intergenerational relationships, and paths toward healing.
The participants in the sharing circle – Carlos Kistabish, Jessie Osborne, John Evan Quoquochi, and Robert Falcon-Ouellette – shared testimonies filled with emotion and truth, shaped by their personal journeys, family responsibilities, and their commitment to passing on values of resilience, love, and culture to their children.
Through their stories, a common reality emerged: the lasting repercussions of intergenerational trauma linked to residential schools, but also the strength and determination of today’s fathers to break cycles of pain and rebuild healthy, supportive bonds for future generations.
The discussions highlighted:
the importance of presence and love in the paternal role, often in contrast with absent or violent models;
the need to relearn and reinvent ways of fatherhood by integrating Indigenous cultural and spiritual values;
the crucial role of transmission—of language, land, and knowledge—as the foundation of collective well-being.
The event concluded with a call to future social workers in the room: to meet Indigenous fathers with humility, listening, and respect, while recognizing the weight of history and the central role of culture in their life journeys.
This moment of truth and sharing was a reminder that reconciliation is also built through the recognition and valuing of Indigenous voices, and that fathers play a key role in the journey toward healing and collective well-being.