Ally Is a Verb

A Guide to Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples

Rose LeMay

Your next step on the journey of reconciliation starts here.

What can you do to be a better ally for your Indigenous colleagues, community members, and friends? By actively listening to the history and current lived experiences of Indigenous peoples, you can take steps to address the inequities they continue to face. Author Rose LeMay notes that if you continually educate yourself, you will see many opportunities to be an ally.

This insightful book suggests how to enter the field of reconciliation in a good way, in your community and your workplace. You will learn:

-more about the true history shared by Indigenous peoples and colonial governments
-why reconciliation is mostly the responsibility of non-Indigenous people
-approaches to intervene when you see racism happening
-better ways to respond to emotions that come up when doing the work of an ally
-how to be an active team player for equity and inclusion

LeMay describes key principles to promote reconciliation, deepen your practice of allyship, and contribute to meaningful change.

Reviews

Reading Rose LeMay is like having tea with a really good friend. We know that really good friends not only support us, but also challenge us, and challenge leads to growth. LeMay asks all the right questions to take us beyond talk, advancing reconciliation as an action, a daily practice. As a citizen and as an ally, I am grateful to LeMay and for this book.

Shelagh Rogers OC, Chancellor, Queen’s University; Honorary Witness, Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Rose LeMay offers all non-Indigenous Canadians an answer to their seemingly ever-present question ‘What can I do?’ when it comes to reconciling with Indigenous Peoples. This book is an all-in-one. It exposes the Great Canadian Lie; it teaches, educates, and offers concrete, pointed examples every settler can take to improve the future of everyone living in this country we call Canada. LeMay’s book offers everyone a path forward on reconciliation. Everyone, go buy this book.

Tanya Talaga author, All Our Relations and The Knowing

Every non-Indigenous person needs to read this transformative book. A history lesson, a coaching session, and a hopeful love letter to Canada, Rose LeMay’s writing breaks down hard and difficult concepts in a way that is both accessible and achievable. After reading this book, each reader will be empowered to act.

Julie Cafley PhD, Executive Director, Catalyst Canada

Rose LeMay is a speaker, trainer, and coach on reconciliation—and an unrelenting champion for the inclusion and well-being of Indigenous peoples. As a facilitator and trainer in cultural competence and anti-racism, she has supported thousands of Canadians from coast to coast to deepen their understanding and capacity for reconciliation. As a keynote speaker, she can take people through difficult topics of racism and reconciliation to find common ground and hope for the future. LeMay has over twenty years of experience in policy and program development in health and mental health systems in government and the non-profit sector. She is an alumnus of the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference, a Certified First Nations Health Manager, certified in Prosci Change Management, and a 2021 Global Pluralism finalist. LeMay is from Taku River Tlingit First Nation in northern British Columbia.

ISBN 978-1-77458-577-1
$24.95 CAD • $19.95 USD
Published APRIL 22ND, 2025

5 × 8 • 200 Pages
PAPERBACK, EBOOK