(Ottawa, ON) October 26, 2020 – On this week’s Roots & Hoots episode, the LHF host, Gordon Spence, is joined by special guests Alyssa Flaherty-Spence and Lavinia Qiatsuk Flaherty where they share their amazing story about being lost in the Canadian Arctic. We are also joined by guest David Sudlovinik, the person who would eventually find the two girls and helped return them to safety.

It was a sunny spring day in 2011. Alyssa and Lavinia were heading out to go fishing with friends and family not too far from Iqaluit, however, on their way back they got lost in the skidoo trails when a blizzard was coming their way. During spring in the Arctic, temperatures can drop down to a freezing -40o C. For 48 hours, the two young women were fighting for their survival, until a search and rescue team member was out on his skidoo and spotted them from afar.

“This is a very touching story that I am grateful we can share with the public. They exemplify resilience and strength, and I am thankful for them joining us on Roots & Hoots to share their experience,” said LHF’s Executive Director and In-House Legal Counsel, Teresa Edwards.

To listen to Alyssa and Lavinia’s full story, visit: https://legacyofhope.podbean.com/

The LHF is a national, Indigenous-led, charitable organization that has been working to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada for 20 years. The LHF’s goal is to educate and raise awareness about the history and existing intergenerational impacts of the Residential and Day School Systems and subsequent Sixties Scoop on Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) Survivors, their descendants, and their communities to promote hope and healing in Canada. The LHF works to encourage people to address discrimination and injustices in order to contribute to the equality, dignity, and respectful treatment of Indigenous Peoples and to foster Reconciliation. The LHF also has 19 exhibitions available for loan and can be shipped across Canada.

The LHF is working on making its other exhibitions available on line. LHF also has curriculum from K-12 and for adults, along with Activity Guides, aimed at educating Canadians about Indigenous history and the shared history of Residential Schools, the Sixties Scoop, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Day Schools. The LHF works to develop empathy and understanding so as to eliminate racism and foster Reconciliation in Canada.

For media inquiries:
Teresa Edwards, B.A. JD.
Executive Director and In-House Legal Counsel
Legacy of Hope Foundation
Phone:  613-237-4806 Ext. 303 info@legacyofhope.ca