(Ottawa, ON) – September 3, 2025 – The Legacy of Hope Foundation is pleased to announce the release of our third episode in an 8-part series exploring the history and existing impacts of the Federal Indian Day School System. In this episode, host Gordon is joined in our studio by Dolores Peltier, a devoted community member and organizer  who is of the Three Fires Confederacy from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island. Dolores shares memories from her time attending the Kateri Tekakwitha Day School from Kindergarten to Grade Four, and the Pontiac School from Grade Five to Grade Eight. 

Dolores has mixed feelings about her experiences at Day School. She notes how most teachers would punish, shame and belittle students publicly – except for one teacher who made genuine efforts to build relationships in the community. Dolores and Gordon discuss the difficult transition from the Federal Day School System to the provincial school system. Despite being valedictorian in Grade Eight, Dolores felt unprepared and fell behind academically in her first year at a provincial high school – an unfortunate and common experience for many Day School Survivors.

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On the topic of Reconciliation and repairing relationships, Dolores says it’s important for Canadians to understand the cultural and sacred connections which were taken away from Indigenous Peoples and the importance of reclamation efforts today, noting how cultural teachings were targets for erasure, and yet they will always be found inside of Indigenous Peoples.

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 30 educational exhibitions that promote awareness of Indigenous history, which are free to borrow, and we are working on making exhibitions 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