The Sixties Scoop was an effort by the Canadian government, beginning in the early 1960's and continuing to the late 1980's, to use the child welfare system to remove aboriginal children from their families and place them into adoptive and foster families throughout Canada, the United States, and western Europe. Ostensibly, this was done so that the children would have access to a better public education, following the abolition of the compulsory residential school system in the 1950's. Somewhere around 20,000 aboriginal children were caught up in this.
This came up in the news recently after a number of class action lawsuits against the federal government were filed by survivors in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. A 2009 lawsuit, filed by Marcia Brown Martel and Robert Commenda, was appealed by the federal government. The appeal was dismissed in 2014 by the Ontario Superior Court.
Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger issued an official apology back in June, the first such official apology from a provincial government, and was well met by aboriginal communities in Manitoba. However, they are calling for compensation from the government to help them address the incredibly damaging effects that they still suffer from.
CBC published another article today, focusing on the story of survivors like Marlene Orgeron.
Marlene and her brothers were sold to a family in Louisiana for $30,000.
Willy Fast was sold to a family in Indiana for $10,000.
Carla Williams was sold to a family in Holland for $6,400.
Twins Diane and Debra were sold to Pennsylvania for $10,000.
If former adoption agents, like Barbara Tremitiere of the Pennsylvania-based Tressler Lutheran Home for Children are to be believed, they had no idea this was happening. Tremitiere said that her agency charged fees of under $2,000 to coordinate an adoption for "special needs" children, which all aboriginal children were considered to be.
The Children's Bureau of New Orleans apparently charged nearly $4,000 to coordinate such adoptions.
The Manitoba government issued a moratorium in 1982, ending this practice in the province.
I'm not really sure what to say. This is horrific, and the fact that nothing more than a simple apology has been done for aboriginal communities in Canada is a national disgrace.
Canada, the United States, and who knows how many of our allies in western Europe, were engaging in what was essentially human trafficking, continuing the genocide that was begun by the residential schools. Government sanctioned human trafficking of children. In the goddamn 1960's.
I'd like to have a drink right about now, but I have to drive to a hockey game in a few minutes so that will have to wait until I get home. In the meantime, NSG, discuss.
