Letter to AFN request to meet 60s Scoop adopteesby Indigenous Adoptees |
February 19 2017
National Chief Perry Bellegarde
Assembly of First Nations
55 Metcalfe Street
Suite 1600
Ottawa, ON K1P 6L5
Dear National Chief,
Thank
you for your recent statement “Children of the Sixties Scoop deserve
justice, healing and reconciliation” on February 14, 2017. The National
Indigenous Survivors of Child Welfare Network (NISCWN) formerly known as
BiGiwen Indigenous Adoptee Gathering, began our work in earnest in 2014
in Ottawa, ON. Led by a few local Sixties Scoop adoptees, our goal was
to bring adoptees together to share our stories, validate each other’s
experiences, and work towards healing grounded in our Indigenous
traditions. Our first gathering was a resounding success as 65 adoptees
came together in Ottawa from all over Turtle Island to build capacity,
share stories, and begin the long process of healing inter-generational
wounds and trauma. In August 2015 we held our 2nd gathering for Sixties
Scoop adoptees, foster care survivors, and their families. With the
help of trusted Elders and community facilitators, we utilized
land-based ceremonies to lead the healing work. At that time we reached
out to AFN for support but your office could not accommodate us but
thank you for offering. Our 3rd gathering is planned for fall 2017.
The
National Indigenous Survivors of Child Welfare Network (“the Network”)
is writing this letter to request a meeting with you in light of the
recent judicial decision on the Ontario class-action lawsuit on behalf
of Sixties Scoop adoptees. Also, given Minister Bennett’s statement on
her willingness to engage in negotiations with adoptees, a meeting would
be especially timely. During the meeting we would like to discuss and
brief you on our work, how the Sixties Scoop has impacted our lives, the
work that needs to be done across Turtle Island for healing and
reconciliation, and ways that NGO's Chiefs, and advisors can provided
necessary support and expertise.
The
Network is unique, as it's the only community-based adoptee-led
organization working with Sixties Scoop adoptees & foster care
survivors. We're intimately connected to hundreds of adoptees across
Canada, the US, and overseas. Urban and rural First Nations, Metis and
Inuit adoptees & foster care survivors who have reached out to us
over the years for support, advocacy, resources and friendship. One
common heartbreak and concern we hear from adoptees who've been taken
away from their communities is that our Chiefs and First Nation
communities have not supported our repatriations nor welcomed us back
into the circle.
Our
central concern in working towards a national resolution to ongoing
litigation is that all impacted adoptees and foster care survivors are
not just included, but centred and prioritized, in any discussions about
their cultural losses and in strategizing ways forward. It's vital that
our voices are heard since it's the survivors who know the impacts of
the Sixties Scoop the best because we speak to it from our lived
experiences.
Although
the Ontario class-action lawsuit judgement is one small victory,
thousands of adoptees and foster care survivors are once again
emotionally triggered by these announcements with reverberations being
felt across the nation and beyond. Survivors do not want to be excluded
from conversations about us, and together with the Assembly of First
Nations the Network wants to ensure that all our voices are represented
at the negotiation table, while we continue the critical work of raising
awareness about the Sixties Scoop nationally and internationally.
We look forward to hearing from you,
Colleen Hele- Cardinal, Duane Morrisseau-Beck, Elaine Kicknosway
Directors
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