Adoptees of Sixties Scoop tell their stories
Summary
TLDRThe speaker, a 60s Scoop survivor, shares their journey of self-discovery and healing from the trauma of being taken away from their indigenous roots and adopted by a white family. They recount the struggle with identity and the long path to embracing their heritage, overcoming mental health challenges, and finding strength in First Nations traditions. The narrative emphasizes the importance of education and reconciliation, advocating for the acknowledgment and implementation of treaties to honor indigenous ways of life.
Takeaways
- 🌪️ The speaker's early perception of their indigenous heritage was shaped negatively by their white adoptive parents and societal environment.
- 👥 Feeling of isolation as an adoptee, not fitting in with either biological or adoptive families due to cultural and worldview differences.
- 🌱 A belief that ancestral voices on the wind provided strength and resilience during times of personal struggle and adversity.
- 📚 Acknowledgment of the '60s Scoop as a global issue, not just an indigenous one, highlighting the need for its story to be told widely.
- 🏥 The speaker's journey of healing included overcoming multiple mental health diagnoses and a long process of self-discovery and acceptance.
- 💬 The importance of sharing personal stories to combat fear and raise awareness about the experiences of indigenous adoptees.
- 🌳 Embracing First Nations traditions and finding roots again as part of the healing process and moving forward in life.
- 🤝 A call for more education about indigenous history, treaties, and the impact of past policies like the residential schools and the '60s Scoop.
- 🌐 The speaker's newfound understanding and desire to educate others, particularly Aboriginal women, on strength and overcoming suffering.
- 👨👩👧👦 The positive influence of the speaker's adoptive mother, who encouraged understanding and respect for the birth mother's decision.
- 🤝 A sense of community and belonging found in gatherings with other adoptees, highlighting the shared experience and mutual understanding.
Q & A
What was the initial perception of the narrator's heritage from their white adopted parents?
-The initial perception of the narrator's heritage was not positive, as it was portrayed negatively through the eyes of their white adopted parents.
How does the narrator describe the unique sound of the wind in their town?
-The narrator believes the unique sound of the wind carries the voices of their ancestors, who they feel gave them the strength to survive abuse and ridicule.
What is the '60 scoop' mentioned in the script, and how does it relate to the narrator's story?
-The '60 scoop' refers to a period in history when indigenous children were taken away from their families and given to non-indigenous adoptive families. The narrator is one of the 60 scoop survivors, and their story is a reflection of this historical event.
How does the narrator describe their struggle with identity and fitting in?
-The narrator struggles with identity, feeling they don't fit in with either their biological or adoptive family due to being raised with a white worldview, which is very different from their indigenous heritage.
What was the narrator's realization about their indigenous identity?
-The narrator realized that even though they looked native, they often forgot they were native because they grew up identifying as white.
How long did it take for the narrator to resolve their past traumas?
-It took the narrator about 15 years to completely resolve what had happened to them, including being diagnosed with various mental health disorders.
What role did the narrator's psychiatrist play in their healing process?
-The narrator's psychiatrist played a crucial role by allowing them to talk through their experiences, which helped them find their strength again.
How has the narrator integrated First Nations traditions into their life?
-The narrator has adopted First Nations traditions into their life as part of their healing journey, helping them find their roots again.
What is the narrator's motivation for sharing their story?
-The narrator shares their story to help others, particularly Aboriginal women, learn how to be strong and overcome the suffering they have experienced.
What misconceptions did the narrator have about Native people growing up?
-The narrator grew up with misconceptions that Native people were lazy, on welfare, and drunks, which they later realized were false after learning more about their history and the impact of events like residential schools and the 60 scoop.
What does the narrator believe is the most important step towards reconciliation and understanding?
-The narrator believes that education is the most important step, including educating the government, Canadians, and their own communities about the history and current issues faced by indigenous people, as well as honoring and implementing treaties and agreements.
How did the narrator's perspective on adoption change over time?
-The narrator's perspective on adoption changed from a negative view influenced by their adoptive parents to a more understanding and respectful one, recognizing the love and difficult decisions made by their birth mother.
What was the significance of the gathering mentioned in the script?
-The gathering was significant because it was the first time the narrator met other adoptees, creating a sense of community and understanding without the need for words, as they all shared similar experiences.
Outlines
🌬️ Embracing Heritage and Overcoming Adversity
The speaker reflects on their childhood and the negative image of their indigenous heritage as perceived by their white adoptive parents. They describe a unique sound of the wind in their town, which they now believe to be the voices of their ancestors, providing strength to endure abuse and ridicule. The narrative extends to the broader issue of '60s scoop survivors, children taken away from indigenous families, highlighting the universality of this struggle. The speaker grapples with identity, feeling out of place in both biological and adoptive families due to their upbringing and worldview. They recount a healing journey, overcoming various mental health diagnoses, and eventually embracing First Nations traditions to reconnect with their roots. The speaker's mission is to educate and empower other indigenous women, sharing their story to confront fear and promote understanding and reconciliation.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Heritage
💡60s Scoop
💡Ancestors
💡Abuse and Ridicule
💡Worldview
💡Healing Journey
💡First Nations
💡Mental Health Disorders
💡Reconciliation
💡Treaties
💡Fear
Highlights
The speaker's perception of their heritage was negatively influenced by their white adoptive parents and the town's unique wind sound, which they now believe carried the strength of their ancestors.
The speaker's story is part of a larger narrative of the '60s scoop survivors, highlighting a global issue of children being taken away from their families.
The feeling of isolation experienced by adoptees who do not fit in with either their biological or adoptive families due to cultural differences.
The internal struggle of the speaker, who grew up white but is native, and the journey to embrace their identity as an adoptee.
The speaker's healing journey, which took 15 years and involved overcoming various mental health diagnoses.
The importance of sharing one's story to overcome fear and contribute to the collective understanding of the adoptee experience.
The speaker's adoption of First Nations traditions as a means to reconnect with their roots and find strength.
The speaker's mission to educate others, particularly Aboriginal women, on resilience and overcoming suffering.
The significance of the speaker's realization about the stereotypes they held towards Native people and the importance of education in changing perceptions.
The need for increased education about the history of residential schools and the '60s scoop to foster reconciliation.
The speaker's call for the implementation of treaties and agreements to allow indigenous people to return to their traditional ways of life.
The speaker's positive childhood experience with their adoptive mother, who encouraged their understanding and respect for adoption.
The emotional impact of meeting other adoptees for the first time and the immediate sense of understanding and connection.
The speaker's belief in the importance of sharing personal stories to break the silence around the adoptee experience.
The speaker's commitment to reconciliation and the desire to work together to improve the situation for indigenous people.
The transformative power of education and understanding in overcoming past traumas and moving towards a more inclusive society.
Transcripts
when I was younger I understood my
heritage through my white adopted
parents his eyes and it wasn't a good
image and in the town I was living in
there's a very unique sound to the wind
and I now think that on that wind were
my ancestors speaking to me and they
were the ones that gave me the strength
to survive abuse and ridicule my story
and the stories of other 60 scoop
survivors of kids being taken away and
given away it's not just an indigenous
story it's a world story that needs to
be told we feel really alone right
because we don't really feel like we fit
in with our biological family
we don't really fit in with our adoptive
family so we're kind of caught between
both because we always we have this
internalized thing where we grew up
white so our worldview is very different
so we struggle with like where do we fit
in and one of my things was like well
people know that I'm not native even
though I look native I always forget I
would forget that I was native so it's
been a long healing journey for a lot of
us to get to the point where we're like
okay to just be an adoptee you know and
then find others like us it's taking our
whole lives to get to this point I
started remembering my childhood and I
started having emotions for my childhood
that weren't there before and it took a
long time it took about 15 years to
completely resolve what had happened I
was diagnosed with borderline
personality disorder post-traumatic
stress disorder complex mood disorder
major depression generalized anxiety
disorder and over the past few years
I've put that all behind me
I found a psychiatrist and basically
demanded that she let me talk and
through all of that I was able to find
my strength again since then I've been
able to adopt some First Nations
traditions into my life and find my
roots again so that really helps to and
I'm just moving forward with my life
it's sort of like I I took a break from
living healed my my child inside me and
kept on going this stuff happened for a
reason I still don't understand why but
my reasoning behind it the
I'm thinking is I need to teach other
people about this I need to teach other
Aboriginal women you know how to be
strong how to pull yourself up out of
the suffering that have happened to you
that's why I'm here today to help others
and to get my story out there you know
lots of people have been in my situation
and they don't share their story they're
afraid and it's fear that keeps that
hidden well I had to get rid of that
fear so I can open up and share my story
with my family and my community and
magneton First Nation I've shared all my
stories with them you know I was always
thought that Native people we're lazy
and on welfare and drunks and so forth
that's what I grew up believing but
learning the history of this country and
learning more about what happened from
the residential schools to what we're
dealing with now with the 60 scoop has
opened up my eyes and I think that's
what that's the that's the most
important thing that we need to start
doing is more education and and
educating government and educating
Canadians and in educating our own
communities about what what's going on
let's talk about the treaties and the
and the the critic agreements and let's
look at those and implement those and
let let the indigenous people return
back to the way that they live and the
way that they think and let's honor
those we're ready to reconcile
Aboriginal people have always been that
way we want to work together but I'm not
having her knee signals and I'm waiting
I had an amazing wonderful childhood my
adopted mother is super positive and
encourages me she knows that I come to
these gatherings and like I understood
adoption right from day one I always
with the feeling to have love towards my
birth mother and to respect her that she
made that decision out of out of love
this is a miracle that this gathering
has come to be for the first time
meeting other adoptees it was like I was
in a room with people that I didn't have
to even talk to or really share because
I got this feeling that one we looked at
each other we just had to nod and be
like yeah I understand it was magical it
was like wow I found people like me
関連する他のビデオを見る
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0fsRGWkjvLY/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCIAKENAF8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-CYAC0AWKAgwIABABGCsgXyhyMA8=&rs=AOn4CLB8sAVbfZDT3vWZwRgs_n7pFXX8XQ)
Not Mexican or American Enough: Bicultural Identity Struggles | Ranchel Alvarado | TEDxSHSU
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8uB83G7xZgU/hq720.jpg)
Episode 1 – Treaty Promises: Treaty making
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/if7pDZRoVAM/hq720.jpg)
Injustice in the Philippines: the plight of the Lumads
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oK5ZziVne1A/hq720.jpg)
My Sexual Abuse Survivor Story
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/i3XHzKN9CXE/hq720.jpg)
Episode 2 – Treaty Promises: Interpreting and understanding treaties
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/r01DOmPpxjg/hq720.jpg)
ENGLISH SPEECH | MUNIBA MAZARI: Motivational Words (English Subtitles)
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)