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The Samara Centre for Democracy is thrilled to announce that the 2024 In Defence of Democracy speaker is Connie Walker, Pulitzer Prize recipient, Peabody Award-winning investigative journalist and host of the acclaimed podcast Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s. Ms. Walker is a member of the Okanese First Nation in Saskatchewan and her work has exposed the crisis of violence in Indigenous communities and the devastating impacts of intergenerational trauma stemming from Indian Residential Schools in Canada and the U.S.
She will be in conversation with Nahlah Ayed, host of CBC Radio’s IDEAS, candidly discussing the importance of storytelling in advancing reconciliation, justice and democratic renewal.
Since 2019 In Defence of Democracy has convened a diverse audience that extends across sectors, disciplines, professions and generations to consider a pressing question of our era: how do we inspire renewed civic purpose in Canada? Previous IDOD events have featured Anand Giridharadas, Naheed Nenshi, and Lisa LaFlamme and have aired as episodes on CBC Radio’s IDEAS.
Sponsor In Defence of Democracy
The In Defence of Democracy event provides an opportunity to link your organization to the Samara Centre’s non-partisan efforts to secure a vibrant culture of civic engagement across Canada.
About our Speakers
Connie Walker
Connie Walker (Cree) is a Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award-winning investigative journalist and host of the acclaimed podcast “Stolen” from Spotify Studios. Her work has exposed the crisis of violence in Indigenous communities and the devastating impacts of intergenerational trauma stemming from Indian Residential Schools in Canada and the U.S.
The Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award-winning second season, “Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s,” premiered in 2022 and is one of the most comprehensive investigations into a single residential school. Walker and her team exposed systemic abuse that permeated the St. Michael’s Indian Residential School in Duck Lake, Saskatchewan for decades and preserved the testimonies of St. Michael’s survivors through a modern-day oral history project. Over the course of ten months of reporting, the “Stolen” team uncovered more than 200 allegations of sexual abuse against priests, nuns, and staff members.
In 2023, “Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s” won a Pulitzer Prize in the Audio Reporting Category and a Peabody Award in the Podcast and Radio Category, becoming the first podcast to win both awards in the same year. Also in 2023, the podcast won an Edward R. Murrow Award, an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award, a National Magazine Award (Ellie) in Podcasting from the American Society of Magazine Editors, an Adweek Audio Award for Best True Crime Podcast, and an honorable mention from the Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma. In 2022, “Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s” won the IDA Award for Best Multi-Part Audio Documentary or Series. The series was also named one of the best podcasts of the year by The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Esquire and Vulture.
Prior to joining Gimlet Media in 2020, Walker spent nearly two decades as a reporter and host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto. She co-created and led the public broadcaster’s Indigenous Unit in 2013 and was part of a team of reporters who built a database of unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women in 2016. The powerful digital project exposed the scope of violence against Indigenous women and girls but also illustrated the human toll behind the statistics. The digital project was recognized as a finalist of the Michener Award and was awarded the RTDNA’s Adrienne Clarkson Award.
In 2016, as a Senior Reporter in the Investigative Unit, Walker launched the podcast “Missing & Murdered.” The gripping series subverted the popularity of the true crime genre to expose its audience to the systemic issues at the root of the violence facing Indigenous women and girls. In 2018, “Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo” won the inaugural Best Serialized Story award at the Third Coast International Audio festival, the Canadian Journalism Foundation’s Jackman Award and a Canadian Screen Award.
In 2019, Walker received the Ochberg Fellowship from The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University. In 2024, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law by the University of King’s College. The same year, she was included on TIME Magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people.
Walker is a member of the Okanese First Nation in Saskatchewan. She lives with her family in Toronto.
Nahlah Ayed
Nahlah Ayed is an award-winning veteran of foreign reporting: first, in the Middle East where she spent nearly a decade covering the region’s many conflicts. And later, while based in London, she covered many of the major stories of our time: Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Europe’s refugee crisis, the Brexit vote and its fallout.
A former parliamentary reporter for The Canadian Press, Nahlah is a graduate of Carleton University's Master of Journalism program. She also holds a Master's degree in interdisciplinary studies (Philosophy, English and Science) and a Bachelor of Science in genetics from the University of Manitoba.
Among her many awards and distinctions are: a Prix Italia she won in 2011, for a team-produced multimedia project, “Exile Without End”, about a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut.
In 2012, her book, A Thousand Farewells, was shortlisted for a Governor General’s Award.
In 2016, Nahlah Ayed and her team won "Story of the Year" at the UK Foreign Press Association Awards for their documentary on child labour in India.
In 2017, she won a photojournalism award from the Canadian Association of Journalists for her story, “The Rescuers.”
She also holds three honorary doctorates from the University of Manitoba (2008), Concordia University (2016) and the University of Alberta (2018).
Nahlah Ayed was born and raised (mostly) in Winnipeg, Canada.
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