(Ottawa, ON) – July 17, 2024 – On this week’s episode of Roots and Hoots, host Gordon Spence is joined by Métis scholar and historian, Dr. Allyson Stevenson. The two share an important conversation on Métis history and heritage. Allyson helps listeners understand the policies and politics that have led to Métis dispossession of land and the severing of kinship ties, while also highlighting stories of resistance along the way. This episode invites listeners on a journey to learn more about the contributions of Métis Peoples to the fibers of Canada.

Allyson joins the interview from Treaty 6 Territory in Saskatoon. She is an Assistant Professor in Indigenous Studies and the Current Chairholder for the Gabriel Dumont Research Chair in Métis Studies. Allyson did not always have access to her Métis culture, but she grew up understanding the importance of cultural preservation. As she began uncovering her roots, this coincided with her pursuit of secondary education.

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Métis history is rich with stories that connect to the early days of the Nation building of Canada. Allyson and Gordon discuss the Red River Rebellion which led to the Manitoba Act of 1870. The Métis fight for land rights and treaty rights has been an ongoing struggle and Allyson helps listeners understand concepts like the Métis scrip system, road allowance communities, and enfranchisement. As their conversation winds down, Allyson touches on the genocide of buffalo on the Plains and how a ‘colonial ghost’ still looms over cities like Regina today.

The LHF is a national, Indigenous-led, charitable organization that has been working to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada for over 24 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 in order to contribute to the equity, dignity, and respectful treatment of Indigenous Peoples.

The LHF has 30 educational exhibitions that promote awareness of Indigenous history that are free to borrow and is working on making exhibitions available online. LHF also has curriculum 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 so as to eliminate ongoing racism against Indigenous Peoples and to 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