Sixties Scoop sharing circles look to help survivors heal
A large crowd filled the Kerry Vickar Centre theatre in Melfort Wednesday for a Sixties Scoop Apology Sharing Circle in the community.
The Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Saskatchewan (SSISS) is traveling across the province and hosting sharing circles in partnership with the Government of Saskatchewan, where survivors of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop can share stories as part of their healing journeys.
The Sixties Scoop was an era in Saskatchewan where the provincial government and its agencies removed Indigenous children from their communities and families. Patricia Whitebear, a board member with SSISS and speaker, told northeastNOW that Indigenous children were taken by governments of the day, whether they were status, non-status, Metis, or Inuit.
“It left us with loss of culture, identity, language, homeland, and it impacted us greatly,” Whitebear said.