'You rarely get that kind of acknowledgment': Montreal Sixties Scoop survivor moved to tears by court ruling

When the news came down that an Ontario Superior Court judge had ruled in favour of Sixties Scoop survivors, it moved Nakuset to tears.

"I've been crying all day," said Nakuset, a survivor who lives in Montreal. "I'm totally, totally, totally in shock. I can't believe it."

The ruling came Tuesday, after an eight-year court battle. Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba found that the federal government failed to prevent on-reserve children from losing their Indigenous identity after they were forcibly taken from their homes as part of what's known as the Sixties Scoop.

Thousands of First Nations children were placed in non-Indigenous care between 1965 and 1984, which resulted in psychological harm that has dogged survivors into adulthood, Justice Belobaba wrote in his ruling Tuesday.

• Judge rules in favour of Indigenous survivors of Sixties Scoop
• Indigenous children for sale: The money behind the Sixties Scoop

"It just puts your whole life into perspective," Nakuset told CBC Montreal's Homerun. "It's like, 'You're sorry? You think we were mistreated?' Oh my God, you rarely get that kind of acknowledgment."

Nakuset, who is currently co-chair of the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network and the executive director of the Native Women's Shelter, was born in Manitoba and was adopted twice.

The first time, her mother's husband adopted her. When he died, she was part of the Sixties Scoop — taken from her home and placed for adoption.

"They put my picture in a catalogue, and that was shipped to Montreal. When a Jewish family wanted to adopt, all they had to choose from were Indigenous children. So I was adopted and sent from Manitoba to Montreal."

Nakuset said some Native children were treated well in their new adoptive families, but many had a difficult upbringing.

"It was cultural shame. All the social workers would tell [the adoptive parents], 'Don't tell them that they're Native. Just change their name and don't talk about where they're from.' They taught us cultural shame," she said.

• 'More work to be done': Sixties Scoop survivor says ruling should be just the beginning
• 'It's a vindication': Sask. survivor welcomes Sixties Scoop ruling

Although the amount of the damages is still to be determined, the lawsuit sought $1.3 billion for 15,000 Ontario claimants.

Nakuset said it's not about the money.

"Is it going to bring back my language? My culture?" she said, adding that Sixties Scoop survivors in Montreal may also launch a lawsuit.

"I don't know what the money is going to do. Maybe I can use that money to help my kids understand a little more about who they are than I did."

Nakuset, who works with members of the Indigenous community every day, said they have suffered trauma because of what the federal government did, making Tuesday's court ruling "huge."

"I feel for those who have committed suicide because they couldn't handle it and who have gone to the sex trade and died and there's so many native adoptees who have struggled — and today I salute them."