Winnipeg conference hears Sixties Scoop survival stories and calls for increased support

Sixties Scoop survivors from Manitoba gathered in Winnipeg on Saturday to share stories of being removed from their homes as children, as well as call for more healing support. The gathering was held at Sergeant Tommy Prince Place and hosted by The 60s Scoop Legacy of Canada. 

Siblings Cindy Munro and Lorraine Sinclair told CBC News they talk to each other every day, but there was a time they weren't able to be as close as they are now. 

"Cindy and I were the two sisters that were kept the longest together, until she had to move to a different foster home," said Sinclair. "We lost each other, but we found each other again." 

The Sixties Scoop refers to the government's legalized trafficking of Canada's Indigenous, Métis and Inuit children across the country and the world. From the late 1950s to the 1980s, these children were adopted into non-Indigenous homes on a permanent basis. Many children's names were changed and their connection to their communities severed.

Munro said ongoing support for survivors is needed due to the ongoing trauma of Sixties Scoop children being stripped away from their culture and language, as well as abuse and neglect they often found in their new homes. 

"I myself would ask for support through counselling [and] our culture," said Munro. "That cultural knowledge should be open for survivors to learn and to get back." 

Sinclair said nine members of her family were part of the Sixties Scoop, with one sibling adopted in the U.S. and a sister the pair haven't met. 

"Even if [we did] ... she's still a stranger to us," Sinclair said.

Sixties Scoop Legacy of Canada Director Katherine Strongwind said Sixties Scoop children face very specific barriers. She said many survivors can't find their families as they don't have full access to their adoption records.

Because as children they were taken from their communities, many survivors struggle to qualify for status cards, which can be essential in proving eligibility for certain benefits and rights. 

"I'm actually working to re-instate my family's status," she said. "My grandmother was never registered, so I'm not eligible to be registered." 

Strongwind said survivor's stories and feedback heard at the event Saturday will go into a report for the provincial government, who partially funded the gathering. She said survivors are continuing calls for a federal inquiry into the actions and policies of governments that led to the Sixties Scoop.

"It's really important to get people together [to] share their stories and have that voice," said Strongwind. 

Munro and Sinclair, who shared their personal story at the gathering, said they will continue to advocate for more support for their lost generation one step at a time.

"It's a healing journey and I'm not here alone," said Sinclair. "I hope we can all succeed." 

CBC has requested comment from the federal and provincial governments.