Essay On The Sixties Scoop

The Sixties Scoop refers to the “scooping” or large scale removal of Indigenous children from their communities, homes, and families of birth through the 1960’s and then their subsequent adoption into non-indigenous, middle class families across the United States as well as Canada.
The emotional and physical separation of the adoptees from their birth families continues to affect the indigenous community and the adult adoptees. The Sixties Scoop was to help the Canadian Government with the assimilation of Indigenous cultures and communities. From 1960-1980 provincial governments thought that the easiest and fastest way of addressing Aboriginal child welfare issues. The child’s welfare systems social workers were not required to seek the consent of communities to “scoop” newborns and other

Between 1971-1981, approximately 3400 indigenous children were adopted in Manitoba. About 80% of indigenous children were now in non-indigenous homes. Recent searches have suggested that more than 20 000 First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children were removed from their homes. In 1981 alone, about 45 to 55 % of children were adopted by American families. There are some some long lasting effects of the sixties scoop on the adult adoptees. The adult adoptees suffer from a loss of cultural identity, loneliness, confusion, low self esteem, and feelings of shame, etc. Many of the adoptees learned about their true heritage later in life, since birth records could not be opened unless both the child and parent consented. This caused emotional distress and frustration in the adoptees. Some of the adoptees were placed in homes with loving and supporting families, but they “could not provide culturally specific education and experiences essential to the creation of healthy, Indigenous identities”. Some of the adoptees reported getting physically, sexually, or other types of abuse. These experiences and feelings the adoptees had led to long-term challenges with their livelihood and