Let’s Chat: What have we done?
By Linda Tooth on October 5, 2023.
At a recent staff meeting an Indigenous co-worker presented on Truth and Reconciliation. She presented a chronological order of events that have impacted not only her ancestors but also her family today. I have always felt I had a good grasp of Canadian history and have been proud to call myself Canadian. After the meeting was completed, I left feeling ashamed and heartbroken for what this country has allowed to happen to a culture, its people and specifically, its children. Children were taken away from their families because churches and eventually governments felt it was in the best interest to ‘assimilate’ them into a white-Christian culture. This began in the 1600s with residential schools being operated by churches, and then the government began funding these schools in the late 1880s. I cannot imagine the horror those parents felt when their children were snatched from their arms. Some were never returned to them. We, as a country, continued to do what we thought was best for them by initiating the “Sixties Scoop.” The Canadian Encyclopedia states that “The scooping started in 1951.” It goes on to say, “Between 11,000 to 20,000 children were taken between 1960 and 1990.” Many of these children came from the Prairies and were taken and adopted by families in Canada, the U.S. and even New Zealand. Many children faced a loss of culture and identity and were abused physically and sexually. The Truth and Reconciliation Report referred to the Sixties Scoop as “cultural genocide.” As someone who was born in the 1960s, I am saddened and angry that this happened in my lifetime. This is something that has occurred while most of us have been living in this country. Why did we as a country allow this to happen? What makes us think we are better than others? The Prairie Provinces publicly apologized for their part in the “Sixties Scoop,” starting with Manitoba in 2015, Alberta in 2018 and Saskatchewan in 2019. A public apology is fine, but we need to do more. We need to be kind and respect the culture and values of those who are different than us. As Canadians we know our ancestors came from different countries in search of a better life. They found it in Canada. Let us not forget that and work toward making it an even better country for all those cultures living here. Linda Tooth is a communications instructor at Medicine Hat college 13-12
