This is an informational paper that will address the Sixties Scoop, its role in cultural genocide, and its impact on the children it affected.
From the early 1950’s to the late 1980’s, the government of Canada took an estimated 20,000 indigenous children from their homes and placed them in the care of generally white, non-indigenous families, with the intent of assimilating them into Western culture.
In 1951, the government legalized the implementation of the Child Welfare Act on Indigenous reserves. This meant that child welfare officers had the authority to remove indigenous children from homes that were deemed unsafe. The poverty, alcohol influence, mental instability, and other factors, along with the unfamiliarity of indigenous culture and judgment based on Euro-Canadian…show more content… During the beginning of the Sixties Scoop, the number of children within the system was under 1%. Nearing the end of the Sixties Scoop, more than 34% of Canada’s indigenous children were in the system. After being added to the system, the indigenous children would either be placed in short-term foster homes or bought by adoptive non-indigenous families for thousands of dollars. The government’s goal was to cut all possible ties between the child and their biological parents. Though a majority of the adopted and fostered children were placed in Canada and America, some children were sent across the world to different countries, such as India, New Zealand, and Germany. Siblings were often separated and placed in different regions. When a child wishes to know about their biological background, they would have to gain the consent of their biological parents. However, because of the government’s attempts, connections between Indigenous families and their children were severed, making it practically impossible for the child to learn about their culture. Though a small number of the placement homes cared for the child with consideration for their Indigenous culture,
