Righting Canada’s Wrongs: The Sixties Scoop and the Stolen Lives of Indigenous Children (book)
Righting Canada’s Wrongs: The Sixties Scoop and the Stolen Lives of Indigenous Children is the latest in the long-running Righting Canada’s Wrongs series, which explores historical instances of discrimination by the Canadian government. In this volume, Andrew Bomberry (Haudenosaunee) and Teresa Edwards (Mi’gmaq) tackle the difficult task of writing a history of the Sixties Scoop that is accessible, but not oversimplified.
The Sixties Scoop refers to the period from 1951 to 1985 when Canada amended the Indian Act to extend provincial child welfare agency power to on-reserve Indigenous families. This amendment led to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children being disproportionately removed from their families, or “scooped,” by non-Indigenous social workers. Children were adopted out to white families not just in Canada, but internationally, and, in addition to being removed from their families and cultures, many suffered abuse in their foster and adoptive homes. Like residential schools, this policy aimed to assimilate Indigenous children into Canadian society and eliminate Indigenous cultures.
Understanding the context of the Sixties Scoop is important to understanding its long-reaching effects. Bomberry and Edwards begin the book with pre-colonial history and the impact of colonization, discuss the history and long-term repercussions of the Indian Act, and cover the history of residential schools before getting into the Sixties Scoop in detail. These are frank, matter-of-fact presentations of history that fit an impressive amount of information into a relatively small number of pages. The authors also actively demonstrate the plurality of Indigenous cultures and experiences throughout the book, drawing examples from across First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities, with special attention paid to the different policies the Canadian government had toward different populations.
The authors centre conversations on Indigenous activism, healing, and strength rather than focusing on abuse and despair. A section on the limitations of the 2017 Sixties Scoop Settlement Agreement, for example, is followed by a list of healing organizations, such as the Legacy of Hope Foundation. The Sixties Scoop and the Stolen Lives of Indigenous Children embraces complexity in the history it tells, which is further enhanced by the inclusion of first-hand accounts from survivors of the Scoop. Their stories provide a plurality of experiences, adding additional nuance to the book.
The Sixties Scoop and the Stolen Lives of Indigenous Children includes a timeline, glossary, additional resources and further reading, and an index in its backmatter, as well as URLs for videos throughout the book. It is timely and well-researched, an excellent resource for teachers, librarians, and parents interested in educating young people about the harms these policies had – and continue to have – on Indigenous communities, as well as the continued overrepresentation of Indigenous children in care.
DETAILS
Price: $34.95
Page Count: 112 pp
Format: Cloth
ISBN: 978-1-45941-669-7
Issue Date: June 2024
Categories: Children and YA Non-fiction, Kids’ Books
Age Range: 12+
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