Calgary’s first-of-its kind march honours survivors of Sixties Scoop
Posted Oct 16, 2022 8:12 pm.
Last Updated Oct 17, 2022 12:10 pm.
Survivors of the Sixties Scoop, their families, and loved ones came together in Calgary Sunday to share stories, and bring awareness to historical and ongoing trauma their communities are facing.
“And the fortunate thing is, that you know what, it never worked. Because we’re still here. We’re still survivors and we will continue to survive one day at a time,” said Adam North Peigan, president of Legacy Folk Foundation and a Sixties Scoop survivor.
The Sixties Scoop Healing Walk Committee organized and hosted the march from Fort Calgary to the Calgary Central Library, where people came together to listen and learn.
“It was a vision that so many rallied around it to be part of today to show goodness, to show that there is power in numbers, that our elders are there for us, and they guide us,” said Susan Bare Shin Bone, event organizer and a Sixties Scoop Survivor.
Organizers say amid truth and reconciliation, they felt there was a need to have more focus on survivors of the Sixties Scoop — a period of time when Indigenous children were taken away from their parents and placed in mostly non-Indigenous households, resulting in lingering trauma for survivors.
“All that trauma and all that loss, it really, really snowballed and I actually spent a lot of time on the streets here in the city of Calgary,” said North Peigan.
North Peigan, like so many, has lost family and friends who have lived on the streets of Calgary. He also says the government’s involvement in the Sixties Scoop was and is a travesty.
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“We are Indigenous to this land that we now call Canada. And for the government of Canada to treat the Indigenous people the way that they did, call it for what it is. it’s genocide,” North Peigan added.
People who attended the march showed hope as they pointed to the children, seeing them as an inspiration for future generations by doing what previous generations could not, and proudly wearing their regalia and sharing tradition.
“The vest represents pride and to open your heart to those you trust,” said Mathew, a participant in the march.
