When I was 14, my adoptive mother asked me if I wanted to find my birth parents. I wonder now what the cost of that question was for her.
In 1973, she and my adoptive dad came to Moose Jaw, Sask. from their farm near Avonlea to get me, a crying three-month-old, from the social worker. It was a hot July day. My mother was the one who figured out that I was crying was because I was hot from wearing three layers of clothing — likely all that I possessed other than a locket my birth mother intended for me.
I was one of the few fortunate ones. My adoptive family loved me. But over the years, I have been told numerous stories of other fostered and adopted Indigenous children who were part of the Child Removal System, also known as the ’60s Scoop. Many of these children were not given the love they needed. Some were adopted to be free labour. Some were adopted as a status symbol. Some were beaten and sexually abused. Many were shamed repeatedly for their brown skin and dark eyes.
Subscribe to our newsletters for our very best stories, recipes, style and shopping tips, horoscopes and special offers.