(Ottawa, ON) – October 28, 2025 – The Legacy of Hope Foundation is pleased to announce the release of our fifth episode in an 8-part series on the Federal Indian Day School System with Susan Flett. Susan is from Tataskweyak Cree Nation and talks about her experience growing up on the trapline and in CN housing, to then moving on reserve and going to the Split Lake Day School.

Susan shares vividly about her time in Day School. She notes going to school at the age of six and the importance placed on learning English. As a young child who was a fluent Cree speaker and who grew up in a totally different environment, the shift to attending Day School and living on reserve was in many ways, a culture shock. Having to ask to go to the bathroom was a foreign concept to Susan and she details her experience of getting reprimanded, noting how if one student was in trouble, the whole class would be punished.

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Despite the challenges she faced in Day School, Susan was determined to pursue higher education and a career in teaching or mental health. She earned a social work degree from the University of Manitoba. Reflecting on Reconciliation, she believes it means returning to Indigenous culture and traditions rather than striving to fit into Western society or the “white man’s world.”

This special podcast series is made possible with funding from the Indigenous Screen Office. Under the umbrella of the Roots and Hoots Podcast, this series features Indigenous scholars, historians, Survivors, and knowledge keepers from across Canada to hear their first-hand accounts, perspectives, and knowledge of the Federal Indian Day School System.

The LHF is a national, Indigenous-led, charitable organization that has been working to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada for over 25 years. The LHF’s goal is to educate Canadians about the history and existing intergenerational impacts of the Residential and Day School Systems and subsequent Child Welfare System on Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) Survivors, their descendants, and their communities to address discrimination against Indigenous Peoples, and to promote hope and healing in Canada. The LHF works to encourage Canadians to address discrimination and injustice to contribute to the equity, dignity, and respectful treatment of Indigenous Peoples.

The LHF has more than 30 educational exhibitions that promote awareness of Indigenous history, which are free to borrow, and some exhibitions are available online. LHF also has curricula for K-12 and for adults, along with Activity Guides, Workshops, and Training, two Podcast series, all aimed at educating Canadians about Indigenous history and the shared history of Residential and Day Schools, the Child Welfare System, and other colonial acts of oppression. The LHF works to develop empathy and understanding to eliminate ongoing racism against Indigenous Peoples and to foster Reconciliation in Canada.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Teresa Edwards, B.A., LL.B / J.D.
Executive Director and In-House Legal Counsel
Legacy of Hope Foundation
tedwards@legacyofhope.ca