(Ottawa, ON) May 26, 2022 - On this week’s episode of Roots and Hoots, host Gordon Spence is pleased to be joined by The Right Reverend, Doctor Isaiah Larry Beardy. Of the many titles Reverend Beardy holds, he is Reverend of the Anglican Church at Split Lake, Northern Manitoba, the Indigenous Suffragan Bishop of two Indigenous Spiritual Ministries, a teacher, a former Chief and Councillor of Tataskweyak Cree Nation, a family man and a Survivor of the Residential School System. Gordon and Reverend Beardy sit down to discuss life in Northern Manitoba and the progression of that life through stories.

Reverend Beardy comes from a family and culture of oral traditions. He remembers growing up along the edges of the Barren Lands and the Boreal Forest, as his father worked for the Canadian National Railway in the early 1900s. He lived with his family on the land, and these were some of his fondest memories. Growing up in an oral tradition, he listened intently to the stories told by his parents and grandmother, and the legends that were shared with him and his siblings. At the age of 8, Reverend Beardy was taken to Mackay Indian Residential School in Dauphin, Manitoba. They left on a train from Churchill. At first, he thought he was going on a holiday but the cries of children boarding at every stop along the way into Dauphin soon proved otherwise.

Life is made up of stories. Through this podcast, Reverend Beardy shares many from his life. Stories about statues and authority. Stories about what brought him into the Anglican ministry and the struggles and conflicts that he faces, reconciling the harm that has been done and trying to help people understand what is going on. He has plans to travel to England this year, to preach and share stories from Residential Schools, with those that are wanting to learn. Reverend Beardy shares his views on language revitalization and the importance of extending the classroom to the land, so that the languages can be understood and practiced fully.

When speaking on Reconciliation, Reverend Beardy says that stories must be kept alive and that the young people must talk with Survivors so that their stories can be heard and known. He says that Reconciliation can be found in the scriptures, and that it is said that all people will come together. Through faith, through hope, and through stories, the path of Reconciliation can be found.

The LHF is a national, Indigenous-led, charitable organization that has been working to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada for over 21 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 injustice in order to contribute to the equity, dignity, and respectful treatment of Indigenous Peoples and to foster Reconciliation.

La FAE dispose de plus de 25 expositions accessibles au public et travaille à rendre ses autres expositions disponibles en ligne. La Fondation possède également des programmes d'enseignement de la maternelle à la 12e année et pour les adultes, ainsi que des guides d'activités visant à sensibiliser les Canadiens à l'histoire autochtone et à l'histoire commune des pensionnats et des externats, de la Rafle des années 60, etc. La FAE travaille à développer l'empathie et la compréhension afin d'éliminer le racisme à l’égard des peuples autochtones.

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Teresa Edwards, B.A., LL.B. JD. Directrice générale et conseillère juridique interne Fondation autochtone de l’espoir Courriel:info@legacyofhope.ca Téléphone:613-237-4806, poste 303