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Page 11
Barry Hambly was only four years old when he became a victim of the "Sixties Scoop," which saw hundreds of Aboriginal children removed from their homes and placed with non-Aboriginal families in Canada and the United States.
Now, more than 30 years later, Hambly is rediscovering his roots and sharing the experience with others. His story is featured in the documentary Red Road, which is scheduled to air on Life Network on Aug. 28.
Hambly was born in 1967 on Carry the Kettle First Nation. When he was four his mother, Darlene Whitecap, moved with him and his three siblings to Regina, leaving behind an abusive relationship in an attempt to make a better life for herself and her children. That better life never materialized. Whitecap's problems with alcohol soon led to her losing her children, and Hambly entered the foster care system.
After bouncing from one foster home to another, including one where he was abused, Hambly was adopted at the age of nine by Maggie and Don Hambly, a non-Aboriginal couple living in Hamilton, Ont. He still lives in Hamilton today, where he works as a bricklayer.
After being called an apple-red on the outside but white on the inside-by another Aboriginal person, Hambly decided to locate his birth parents and rediscover his past.
The film documents his return to Carry the Kettle and his experiences as he meets with his mother, father and brother, who he hadn't seen for more than three decades.
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