Surviving the Sixties Scoop
My personal story
I’m originally from Alexander First Nation. I was a foster child during what is called the Sixties Scoop generation of Indigenous people in Canada. I was brought up with the
Stelter family in a caring, nonIndigenous home in Edmonton. I always knew I was a foster child, but I never met my biological family until I was 18.
When I met them it was an exciting time, but I also went through a huge identity crisis. There were many strange cultural differences. I became estranged from my foster family. I was going through a rebellious stage and so meeting this new family was an excellent choice as opposed to being homeless. Which was probably where I was headed because of my unstable lifestyle and lack of direction.
It took a few years of estrangement before I reconnected with my foster family, and even more years after that until I realized how hurt they were at my disappearing and how worried they were of my condition.
After becoming a high school dropout and binge alcoholic, I went to a treatment centre and tried to sober up. Although the attempted sobriety at the treatment centre didn’t last long, I still decided to go back to school and finish my Grade 12. This led to a road of lifelong learning. To make the story short, over the course of 30 years I ended up obtaining several years of postsecondary education and now am a doctoral candidate. The research I am completing is also linked with understanding my own people more in relation to the effects of the trauma they have endured.
Altogether I ended up going to about six treatment centres trying to turn my life around, but along the way I did end up in trouble with the law. I never ended up in prison, but I still got in enough trouble to get a criminal record. This was a humiliating process because in my early years in getting postsecondary education, I wanted to work in prisons as a caseworker and work my way up to upper management. Yet, now I am on the verge of getting a pardon from the federal government. I did this so certain job opportunities could open for me again.
Another humiliating experience is when I lost my own children to child welfare. I didn’t sober up until my children were taken from me, and although I sobered up shortly after losing them, it took years to get them back. Eventually I got all my children back. Learning to be an active father again was a challenge.
Now that I have been sober for 19 years, I am coming full circle by taking care of other extended family members. My sister-in-law passed away a few years ago and when that happened I took in my niece, who was 14 at the time, to live with us full-time. She is now part of our family at home.
After going through all that postsecondary education and turning my life around, I now work with my own Indigenous and non-Indigenous people toward healing and reconciliation, and reaching our full potential. Much of my work is in the Christian community, but I also work for the general community. I started a ministry called Word of Hope Ministries. I often end up working with non-Indigenous people because I try to help them understand my people more.
One of the workshops I lead is called Understanding Indigenous People More, which focuses on the behind the scenes challenges Indigenous people have faced throughout the history of Canada, and still face. Many Indigenous people are still incredibly angry and upset over many relevant issues, but at the same time many nonIndigenous people wonder why Indigenous people are still talking about residential schools and other atrocities. This information workshop creates a better understanding of these issues.
Another workshop is Understanding and Dealing With Grief, Loss and Intergenerational Trauma. Many Indigenous people don’t understand their own sense of grief, loss and trauma, and many non-Indigenous people don’t realize how deep these scars go throughout the generations. From the great-grandparents to the grandparents, to the parents, to the children, to the grandchildren and the greatgrandchildren.
Eight generations went through residential schools, and so it will take some time to heal and understand this grief. This workshop helps Indigenous people understand this entire process and that it is in fact happening with them whether they realize it or not. Not understanding creates a vicious cycle of self-abuse, and other forms of abuse toward family members and society.
Many Indigenous people experience an identity crisis, and many fostered and adopted Indigenous children will reach out to their biological families when they are of age or sooner. This should not surprise anyone because no matter how they were treated in their biological families, they will always feel a connection to them.
All a foster family can do is live by example and be as supportive as they can, knowing that if a child comes into their life for a short time, the foster family can still make a difference during a troubling time.
I felt close to my biological family when I first met them, but as time went by I realized there were so many differences, because of the separation, and to this day it’s hard for me to feel really connected with them. I seemed to go through phases of how connected I felt.
Through it all my roots with the Stelters, who took me in and made me one of their own, also remain to this day. Although my foster dad and mom and one of my brothers have passed away, I am still in regular contact with my other sister and brother in the Stelter family who are older than me.
I have a website with more resources that explain some of these topics. I have also written two books related to Indigenous spirituality and Christianity. I hope to make my dissertation into a third book.