Someday Sparknotes

The Impacts of External Factors on Relationships

The Sixties Scoop was a political act that impacted the lives of many Indigenous families in a way that they may never recover from, where over 20,000 children were forcibly removed from their homes. In Drew Hayden Taylor’s Someday, the author attempts to convey the complexity of relationships to the reader, which can be greatly impacted by social, political, and cultural factors, among many others. Set in a fictional Ojibway community in the nineties, the story revolves around an Indigenous mother who grieves over the forced removal of her daughter 35 years ago. Many Indigenous families were profoundly affected by the Sixties Scoop, which in turn leaves behind a legacy of intergenerational

Firstly, this political enactment has resulted in the separation of many families, and this event has indirectly influenced the relationship between mother and daughter for Barb negatively. After a lifetime of neglect, Barb’s frustration with her mother is evident when she confronts her in an argument, telling her, “Grace is the past”. I’ve lived in her shadow for 23 years. Enough is enough.” (17). This quote highlights Barb’s true feelings of neglect and apathy, contributing to a damaged mother-daughter relationship, derived from Anne’s trauma of losing Grace. This effectively demonstrates that this familial relationship has been negatively impacted by the Sixties Scoop, which, despite being an event that occurred several decades ago, still affects many families to this day. In addition, the forced separation of children from their families during the Sixties Scoop has resulted in a loss of parental guidance, resulting in a feeling of loss and hopelessness within the parents. Barb’s mother, Anne, is a great example of this as she is seen to be rather aloof, even distant from Barb’s life, sometimes as a parental figure. She is seen to put Grace as a priority over all else, even though she is presently living and taking care of Barb. This is exemplified when Barb confronts Janice, while in an argument, “She would have spent every last cent of that five million looking for you.” (76). This shows that Barb knows Anne prioritizes Grace over everything else and is willing to do anything to find her, even if it would cost so much as bringing harm to her current family. As a result, while she is present, she is seemingly not there for Barb as a parental figure due to her focusing all her worries towards Grace instead. This deteriorates the