Woman says her mother gave her up for adoption to spare her from residential school

Tina Taphouse is pictured in Langley, B.C., Monday, June 7, 2021. Photo by: The Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward

#Langley woman says her mother gave her up for adoption to spare her residential school experience. #residentialschool #Sixtiesscoop 

LANGLEY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, B.C. — Tina Taphouse has spent a lot of time lately reflecting on the impact the Kamloops Indian Residential School has had on her life's path.

Taphouse didn't go to the school because her mother, who worked there and had also grown up in residential school, made the impossible decision to put her up for adoption so she wouldn't have to attend.

While Tina escaped the horrors that many survivors of the '60s Scoop and residential schools endured, Taphouse said she also wasn't brought up in her culture, with her family or her traditions and she felt lost.

She began reconnecting with her roots after her biological father reached out to her through an adoption reunification registry in 1994. Over time, she has learned more about her own family and story, although she said she doesn't push her mother to share sensitive details.

READ: Woman says her mother gave her up for adoption to spare her from

Warning: The information and material here may trigger unpleasant feelings or thoughts of past abuse. Please contact the 24-hour Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419 if you require emotional support.