Dave Smith never saw himself as a storyteller. When he was first approached with the idea of First Nations Storytellers, his instinct was to say no. He wasn’t a public speaker, never worked in tourism, and had no experience as a business owner. He had failed history in school. What’s more, he hadn’t grown up in the Indigenous community.

But the idea took root, and before long, he quit his 9-to-5 corporate job to embark on a journey of storytelling, reconciliation, and cultural revival.

Dave’s method of storytelling is grounded in his own personal experience.

“The stories that I share are from the perspective of a person who was taken away from their community and is looking for their way back.”

Dave, a member of the Metepenagiag First Nation, was taken from his home as a child during what is known as the ‘Sixties Scoop,’ a dark period in Canada when Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their homes by child welfare authorities and placed in non-Indigenous households. This happened without the consent of their families.

Dave doesn’t position himself as an authority; instead, he shares his journey with others as a means of fostering understanding and reconciliation. His storytelling makes reconciliation accessible to everyone—from young children to seniors—by weaving together personal experiences with Indigenous history and culture.

His journey began when he realized that Saint John, where he had lived for 23 years, was void of any Indigenous experiences.

“I wasn’t seeing Indigenous people anywhere. And I thought, ‘It’s time to fix that. I want us to be visible again.’”

That realization lit a fire in him. His mission now is to light that same fire in others.

Dave intertwines his personal journey with traditional stories, guiding people through the history of how Indigenous communities lived on these lands.

“When I tell a story, it’s not linear. It’s a jumble of things that I unwind for people in the end to show how we are all connected.”

Although he grew up in a non-Indigenous world, Dave sees himself as walking a path built by knowledge keepers before him. The path may be different for him, but the destination is the same.

He emphasizes that reconciliation is not just for Indigenous people but for non-Indigenous people as well.

“What I’m doing is planting a seed of understanding. They might not even remember the story I told, but they understand that I’ve shifted something in them just a little bit.”

Dave is reclaiming his identity, his language, and his place within his community. Through his words, he creates real, emotional connections that shift perspectives.

“Reconciliation is important. I can give you those words, or I can make you feel it. Stories allow you to feel it.”