Connecting Our Spirits

I

Background

 

The term Sixties (60’s) Scoop was coined by Patrick Johnston in his 1983 report, Aboriginal Children and Child Welfare System. The term refers to the Canadian practice, beginning in the 1960s and continuing until the late 1980s, of apprehending unusually high numbers of Indigenous children in Canada and fostering or adopting them out, usually into non- Indigenous families[i].

 

Up to 20,000 Indigenous children were impacted by this practice where thousands were forcibly and illegally taken from their ancestral territories and scattered throughout Canada, the United States and Europe in non-Indigenous households.[ii]

 

Like many survivors in the Indian Residential School System, many Indigenous foster care and adoptees endured tremendous violence, abuse and racism in their households and now share a common experience of loss of language, ceremony, familiarity of extended family, and connection to their identity through the land. Anecdotal stories of unsuccessful efforts to reintegrate adoptees back into their extended families and territories have led many facing trauma and feeling disconnected to society. Class action lawsuits are forming across the country, similar to the Indian Residential School Settlement[iii] that are currently making their way through the judicial system on behalf of Indigenous children subjected to these policies.[iv]

 

About Us

 

The Manitoba Indigenous Adoptees Coalition (MIAC) is a member-based coalition that was started by a small pocket of adoptees in May of 2014 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Some of the adoptees at that meeting where participants who attended the two-day roundtable, Healing Our Hidden Hurt, that took place in March 2014[v]; others participated by teleconference and came as far as Ontario, Alberta and the USA. 

 

MIAC was formally named on June 6, 2014 at a meeting of adoptees in Winnipeg. The name was chosen to reflect the birthplace and indigenous roots of adoptees. The intent and vision for the MIAC is to provide support and information to adoptees at an individual and collective level.

 

Upcoming Activities

 

Over the next year, the MIAC will begin a series of initiatives to bring the organization into legal standing as a not-for-profit organization that will include a strategic planning session to ensure that the organization builds its capacity while being responsive, relevant, collaborative and credible to its members and the public at large.

 

The MIAC will also be hosting a National Indigenous Adoptees Gathering that will take place in Winnipeg in July 31st to August 3rd 2015. A host of fundraising activities will take place so stay tuned for more information.

 

MIAC Milestones

 

• May 2014- First meeting of adoptees.

• June 2014- Permanent name for MIAC

• July 2014-Confirmed Business Name Certification for MIAC.

• August 2014- Selection of Directors

• September 2014- First meeting of Directors and Strategic Planning Session

 

Join Us

 

Members meet monthly in Winnipeg to reconnect, share their stories, and make decisions on activities for the MIAC. We use various communication platforms such as video and tele-conferencing to connect with our members. For meeting information follow us here or on our Facebook page.

 

The MIAC website will be available to foster care and adoptees to enable them to connect with others and will serve as the information board of all MIAC activities. You don’t have to be born or from Manitoba to be part of the MIAC. However, you will need to access the Membership Registry page to become a member. You may also want to join our Facebook page, go here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mb60sccop/

 

 

Created: August 2014

 

 

 

[i] Johnston, P. (1983) Aboriginal Children and Child Welfare System. Toronto: Canadian Council on Social Development

 

[ii] http://www.fact.on.ca/news/news0212/gm021221a.htm

 

[iii] http://www.residentialschoolsettlement.ca/English.html

 

[iv] http://sixtiesscoopclaim.com/

 

[v] http://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?archive=&item=30152