“It can be challenging for Canadians to come to terms with all this painful history. Film and storytelling can help people better understand what happened to Indigenous families and communities as a result of colonial policies.” – Tasha Hubbard, Cree/Saulteaux filmmaker[1]
Tansi Nîtôtemtik,
The Sixties Scoop remains a dark period in Canada’s history and it carried on far beyond the sixties. There was no end date, no date in which the government announced the achievement of its assimilation goals, and no definitive act ending the pain endured for decades: “like a chameleon, these forms of oppression simply change their appearance and continue on.”[2] In the early 2000s, approximately 40% of the youth in foster care were identified as Aboriginal.[3] Though the numbers remain alarming and the effects of this era are chilling, what cannot be lost in this discussion is the stories of hope and resilience that come from survivors.
Tasha Hubbard was only three months old when she was taken from her family through a government-sanctioned program called AIM (Adopt Indian Métis children) during the Sixties Scoop.[4] She reconnected with her birth family when she was sixteen and is now a talented filmmaker residing in Saskatoon.[5] In 2016, she produced a film, “Birth of a Family”, documenting the lives of three sisters and one brother who were removed from their mother between 1955 to 1985.[6] As Betty Ann, Esther, Rosalie, and Ben all meet each other for the first time, the film documents the process as the siblings connect as adults and after spending their childhood in foster care. The trailer can be found online here.
George Littlechild was four years old when he was taken away from his family. Throughout his childhood, he lived with five different foster families, often enduring racism and physical abuse.[7] He spent 11 years trying to find his family, discovering that his mother was from Maskwacis, Alberta, but had passed away, his father had passed away in Vancouver, and he has four sibling who were also placed into care. In 1996, Littlechild created his first multimedia installation, Displaced Indians: Sixties Scoop, which uses art as a form of “resistance” and “transformation.”[8]
This past April, Urban Shaman in Winnipeg hosted Canada’s first Sixties Scoop art exhibition, A Place Between. The exhibition featured 24 artists, most who have their own experiences with the Sixties Scoop, including work from Hubbard, Littlechild, and Traverse. The exhibition took a community approach prior to its debut, hosting conversations with the community so that there was a place for safe discussion and mitigating the risk of re-traumatizing attendees.[9]
Jackie Traverse is an Indigenous artist from Lake St. Martin, Winnipeg. Many of her pieces focus on her experiences with the Sixties Scoop, including “Two Scoops” and “Empty”, which is a dedication to her estranged mother.[10] A clip of “Two Scoops” can be seen below:
[Two Scoops (clip) from WFG Distribution on Vimeo.]
We encourage you to take a closer look at these storytellers and their projects. We also encourage you to comment on this post if you know of any other creative projects related to the Sixties Scoop so that these stories can be heard and not forgotten.
Until next time,
Team ReconciliActionYEG
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[1] Phillip Lewis, “Fixing the Gaze: New Indigenous Work at the NFB”, National Film Board, blog, January 5, 2017 http://blog.nfb.ca/blog/2017/01/05/fixing-the-gaze-2/
[2] Ralph Bodor, Rochelle Lamourex, Holly Biggs, “Bringing Home the Kids” Rural Social Work and Community Practice, Volume 14 Issue 2, December 2009 at 12
[3] Ibid, at 12.
[4] Joanna Deerchild, “Filmmaker Tasha Hubbard's personal connection to the Sixties Scoop”, Unreserved, CBC Radio, April 23, 2017 http://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/reclaiming-retelling-and-revisioning-indigenous-stories-1.4079554/filmmaker-tasha-hubbard-s-personal-connection-to-the-sixties-scoop-1.4080128
[5] Ibid
[6] Tasha Hubbard, “Birth of a Family”, National Film Board
[7] Portia Priegert, “Winnipeg Project Looks at the Sixties Scoop”, Galleries West, April 10, 2017 http://www.gallerieswest.ca/artists/previews/george-littlechild-and-the-sixties-scoop/
[8] Ibid
[9] Leah Sandals, “Winnipeg to Host Canada’s First Big Sixties Scoop Art Exhibition”, Canadian Art, March 21, 2017 http://canadianart.ca/news/a-place-between-60s-scoop-art-show/
[10] “2014 Rising Star Jackie Traverse” Uniquely Manitoba http://www.uniquelymanitoba.ca/resources/pages/files/risingstar/RS%20Jackietraverse.pdf
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