**1. Introduction**

All Canadians have a role in the process of reconciliation. Perhaps there are greater and lesser roles, but each of us have a part to play. It is my hope that advancing anti-racism and supporting equity and justice as a white woman in Canada contributes to reconciliation. This paper explores my personal, never-ending, decolonization story. It is an exploratory reflection utilizing hermeneutical phenomenology through which I create a framework of justice and truth for reconciliation. This conceptual paper briefly outlines my method, explores in the 'Results' section my conception of justice and truth in relation to Canadian Indigenous peoples, and describes what reconciliation is not, and what my envisioned pathway forward is.

My journey has been, and continues to be in learning, reflecting, hearing, and challenging colonization and racism, and being a supporter and ally, whenever and wherever possible. Joining together with Indigenous voices and actions, learning and practicing Indigenous customs and traditions with Indigenous people, and ensuring Indigenous voices are heard are fundamental ally activities. This paper is an exploratory reflection as a white settler on my privilege, by interrogating and considering justice and its practices, and walking the path advancing reconciliation.

As a policy scholar, my actions as an ally are also meant to support Canadian Indigenous policy objectives. One of the guiding principles of the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Report (issued in 2015) is the requirement for constructive action to address the ongoing legacies of colonialism that have had destructive impacts on all aspects of Indigenous peoples' lives including their cultures, languages, education, health, justice, and economic opportunities and prosperity; reconciliation is defined as "an ongoing process of establishing and maintaining respectful relationships" [1], p. 16. This is followed by a call

**Citation:** Hurlbert, M. "Now Is the Time to Start Reconciliation, and We Are the People to Do So", Walking the Path of an Anti-Racist White Ally. *Societies* **2022**, *12*, 31. https:// doi.org/10.3390/soc12020031

Academic Editor: Gregor Wolbring

Received: 1 December 2021 Accepted: 21 February 2022 Published: 23 February 2022

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**Copyright:** © 2022 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

to create a more equitable and inclusive society in order to close the gap in social, health, and economic outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. While 80% of the 94 Calls to Action are now completed or well underway, many Indigenous people feel action has been too slow.

After the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC, Winnipeg, MB, Canada), I searched for the same understanding of my part in acknowledging and enhancing the change called for by the Commission: pursuing reconciliation. The TRC's report [1] is only one starting point. There is an evolving, diverse Indigenous conversation occurring in Canada, reflecting the dynamic process of reconciliation, healing, and justice between Indigenous peoples and Canada. It is not unitary, it is not static, and it is not for me, or Canada, to determine, but instead to only listen to and support Indigenous people. As advocates of justice and in order to be a white ally, hearing these voices and engaging in an ethical practice that includes truth and justice, will allow us to find where we fit into the interconnected web of reconciliation. This paper details my forty-year practice of justice (first as a lawyer and later as an academic). Through this reflection, and as a consequence of it, I build a conception of Canadian–Indigenous reconciliation.
