(Ottawa, ON) January 25, 2021 – On this week’s Roots & Hoots episode, the LHF host, Gordon Spence, is joined by special guest Allan Makhagak who talks about his experience in Akaitcho Hall Residential School, his work on the Nunavut Impact Review Board and his song writing.

Allan and Gordon discuss Allan’s role as part of the Nunavut Impact Review Board, and how climate change has affected the environment, wildlife and traditional harvesting practices in the High Arctic Region of Canada. Allan also recounts memories of his time in Akaitcho Hall Residential School in Yellowknife, and how the new western diet that consisted of processed foods was among one of the many obstacles he had adapt to within the school. Allan is a talented musician and songwriter; when he graduated high school, he played with local bands to help make ends meet and talks about how he uses song writing as a way to strengthen and reconnect to his Inuit language. Allan has written songs about harvesting, being with family and travelling on the land.

“This is a very touching story that I am grateful we can share with the public. He exemplifies resilience and strength, and I am thankful he joined us on Roots & Hoots to share his experiences,” said LHF’s Executive Director and In-House Legal Counsel, Teresa Edwards.

To listen to Allan’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. For more information about the LHF visit the Legacy of Hope Foundation website at www.legacyofhope.ca.

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.