Graduating members of the Lakehead class of 2026 were joined on stage on Thursday by Theresa Fiddler, also known as Teri Redsky Fiddler, an elder of Sandy Lake First Nation.

Lakehead University bestowed Fiddler with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, granted for a lifetime of achievement in advocacy, education, and public service.

As she waited in the green room of the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium for the day’s events to begin, she described the feeling of earning an honorary degree as “kind of overwhelming.”

Only one week earlier, she was on another stage, accepting another honorary degree from Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) University.

Fiddler says she is “just feeling proud for my children.”

Her most famous act of activism took place in 1988, when she supported a hunger strike in Sioux Lookout organized by her late husband Josias Fiddler, a former Chief of Sandy Lake First Nation, and four others in protest of healthcare inequality experienced by Indigenous communities.

The hunger strike brought national attention to the issue of poor or non-existent health care services for Indigenous Peoples, and eventually brought about the creation of the Meno Ya Win Health Centre in Sioux Lookout.

“During the time my husband was alive, I kind of was in the background helping. I never really came forward to acknowledge the role that I played in my husband’s work,” says Fiddler. “But when he passed away, all of a sudden I found myself getting approached by other organizations that he was involved with. And I basically just took most of his work forward.”

Fiddler does work as a traditional consultant and a knowledge keeper, participating in ceremonies, teaching about traditional medicines, and working with individuals struggling with their mental health.

“I use my teachings from my late parents, my late husband, to continue on the work he did,” she says.

Fiddler also spent 14 years as a band Councillor for Sandy Lake.

As a knowledge keeper, an elder, and a grandmother and great-grandmother to nearly four dozen grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Fiddler is thinking about the future of her community.

“It’s going to be more difficult for the young people now that struggle with addictions. We need to reach out to them,” she says. “We need to help them, and we need to set a healthy path for them and for the future generations.”

Fiddler pursued education late in life: she quit school in Grade 11, and only completed her high school diploma at 42, alongside two of her five children.

In 2011, she moved to Thunder Bay to earn a diploma in Social Service Work at Confederation College, graduating at 61.

“When I first went back to school, I did it for my grandchildren to show them that even though graduating from high school is a big accomplishment, I wanted them to see the world beyond, and to seek more education beyond high school. And I wanted to set an example for them through going back to school,” explains Fiddler.

She says her late husband Josias was her greatest supporter, and was instrumental in helping her graduate — always encouraging her to finish her homework.

“When he passed away, I felt like moving back and packing up, but my children were the ones that encouraged me to go on. So I really value my family,” she adds.

Lakehead University is also granting two other honorary degrees during its 2026 spring convocations: a Doctor of Education to Dr. Gary Polonsky, and a Doctor of Humane Letters to William (Bill) Heibein.