Another side to the ‘Sixties Scoop’ story
By Letter to the Editor on January 22, 2019.
I’ve recently been hearing lots about the federal government’s Sixties Scoop program. Apparently the Liberals plan on giving a cash settlement to every First Nations child who was ‘scooped’ away from their parents in the 1960s. These First Nations children were then placed in foster care. We have all heard over and over what a terrible program this was. However, I challenge you to hear the other side of the story. I have a very good friend who is a First Nations lady. She and her five siblings were ‘scooped’ from their home on the reserve in the 1960s. She told me that her parents were both alcoholics and that they would often leave the six children alone for days and even weeks at a time by themselves. My friend told me that they were all so hungry that they would walk down the road asking people for food. They had minimal clothing which was usually dirty and smelly. The girls would sleep in the attic to avoid being raped by local men. Because these six children were grossly neglected, they, of course, were scooped up by social services and taken to a foster home. My friend talks about how she loved her new home. She had three healthy meals every day, clean clothes and a soft clean bed of her own. She said she couldn’t believe that life could be this good. She was also taught how to cook, do chores and how to sew. She actually was grateful that Social Services had scooped her away from such a neglectful way of life on the reserve. My friend eventually called her foster parents Mom and Dad. Hence, the other side of the Scoop program. My questions are: Why doesn’t the government share this side of the story? And why is the Liberal government paying for a program that was actually intended to protect the First Nations children? Sounds like another money grab hosted by the First Nations. Joyce Moffitt Medicine Hat 11-10
It takes courage to speak out against a popular narrative. There are two sides to every story and in this case, as in most others regarding our Indigenous people, one is often ignored. The same applies to residential schools. No doubt there were many incidents of abuse, but there were also cases of great success. No one hears those stories. In fact a female chief started collecting stories of positive outcomes and was deluged with death threats from her own people. It is time for more balanced reporting.