Sixties Scoop stories wanted

Page 5

Dear Readers:

I am an Aboriginal woman, originally from a First Nations reserve in southwestern Ontario. In 1968 my brothers and I were removed from our biological family, and each of us adopted into non-Native homes. We were vulnerable, unknowing participants in the Sixties Scoop, the period from the 1960s to early 1980s when an estimated 15,000 Native children were apprehended by child welfare authorities and placed in non-Native homes.

I am writing a graduate thesis paper about this time in our Native social history, and looking at the effects that trans-racial adoption had on the lives of the Native adoptees. For my brothers and I the end result was the same, each of our adoptions broke down. We have all had different ways of coping with the loss of our family, our culture, and our connectedness, but the common thread that we share is our ever constant search for identity, and for self acceptance. I am seeking out, and would like to interview Aboriginal men and women who were adopted by non-Native families between the years 1960 and 1980. I would like to hear how your adoption - successful or non-successful - affected who you are as a person, and where you are in life today. If you would be willing to speak about your trans-racial adoption experience with someone who has traveled in similar shoes, and to talk about your life history in a private context, please contact me at the following address. I so look forward to hearing from you. Meegwetch and thank you.

V. George

Suite #233

266 Charlotte Street

Peterborough, ON

K9J 2V4