Indigenous Perspectives Education Guide

Identify the short- and long-term consequences of the Sixties Scoop. Working in small groups, create a mind map that shows the connections between the consequences over time. Alternatively, use the Fishbone Chart: The Sixties Scoop on the Education Portal to record the consequences. 13 Read Sixties Scoop on The Canadian Encyclopedia , and investigate how the Sixties Scoop a€ected Indigenous children and their families. Take notes on the following questions as you do your research: • How many children were taken? • How many families were a€ected? • Who was involved? Where did children go? • What led to the Sixties Scoop system? • How did the closure of Residential Schools relate to the Sixties Scoop? • How did the Sixties Scoop continue the policy of assimilation? Create a Prezi, give a class presentation, write a short film script, or write a news story about the consequences of the Sixties Scoop. Ensure that your chosen medium addresses both the short- and long-term consequences, and addresses one or more of the following questions: • How do you think the Sixties Scoop contributed to the social issues faced by Indigenous peoples today? • How can childhood trauma a€ect the next generation? • What kinds of challenges can childhood trauma lead to in adulthood? • How have the disruptive policies of child removal contributed to the continued overrepresentation of Indigenous children in the foster care system? Intergenerational Survivors: People who have been a€ected by the cross- generational dysfunction created by the experience of attending Residential School or by the Sixties Scoop, including people who have been abused by Survivors or victims of Survivors and, more generally, people who live in dysfunctional communities that are rooted in the fracturing of family and community caused by the generations of children who were separated from their families. The Sixties Scoop: Cause and Consequence T he Sixties Scoop refers to the large-scale removal (“scooping”) of Indigenous children from their homes, communities, and families, and their subsequent adoption by predominantly non-Indigenous, middle-class families across the United States and Canada in the 1960s until the 1980s. This experience left many adoptees with a lost sense of cultural identity, and left many families and communities bereft as their children were stolen. The physical and emotional separation from birth families continues to a€ect adult adoptees and those left behind in Indigenous communities to this day. 6 6 The Canadian Encyclopedia , “Sixties Scoop,” http:/ www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sixties-scoop Institutionalized Inequality: Cause and Consequence H istorically, the Canadian government imposed many restrictive policies on Indigenous peoples that put them at a significant disadvantage compared with non-Indigenous Canadians. Imagine that you are an investigative reporter writing an exposé. Select one of the policies or practices listed below during the period from 1914 to 1982. Beginning with th e Key Moments in Indigenous History Timeline t hat accompanies this guide and The Canadian Encyclopedia , research the details of this policy or practice, and the ways in which this policy was applied to Indigenous peoples. • Enfranchisement and Indigenous Su‡rage • Indian Hospitals • Indian Residential Schools • Project Surname • Sixties Scoop How to Write an Exposé An exposé is a piece of investigatory writing that makes an in-depth inquiry into a subject, exposes a problem, and calls for change. To write an e€ective piece, use the facts, and avoid bias or opinions. Demonstrate knowledge of the problem’s causes and consequences. Keep your work focused, and provide ample details, evidence, examples, and explanations, and present your case for change clearly. Students may want to choose another subject. Make sure there is adequate material for research before beginning. Write a news article in the form of an exposé on your chosen topic. Be sure to include: • A description of the policy or practice • A comparison with the rights of non-Indigenous Canadians at the time • A discussion of the impact of this policy or practice on individuals and communities • A photo, if available Compare your selected issue to present-day conditions by creating an infographic (a visual representation of a story told through numbers) to compare and contrast issues of health care, education, or human rights. How can you represent the changes? Include numbers, dates, symbols, or maps — anything that brings your story to life. Students may work in small groups to create a series of sketches or drawings (with captions), or a mind map to describe the big ideas of the policy, its application, and its impact. “Group of young Aboriginal children with primary tuberculosis playing outdoors, Charles Camsell Hospital, Edmonton” (courtesy Library and Archives Canada/Department of Health fonds/ e010969104). | Inuit identification tag, front (courtesy Canadian Museum of History/IV-C-4496, D2002-013170). | Inuit identification tag, back (courtesy Canadian Museum of History/IV-C-4496, D2002- 013171). | Fort Qu’Appelle Indian Hospital, Saskatchewan (courtesy Saskatchewan Archives Board/Accession R96-472). Images - Left to Right