For additional resources related to residential schools, visit the Orange Shirt Day and IST: Indigenous Studies Residential Schools guides.
Searching for information on the Sixties Scoop can be challenging. Depending on the resources you are accessing, they may be tagged with any of the following keyword variations:
To make searching even more interesting, not all resources related to the Sixties Scoop are labelled as such. You may have success experimenting and searching with the following terms (try them in different combinations with words such as Canada, Canadian, Indigenous, Aboriginal).
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Connie Walker, 2018
CBC News
A 10 episode series by CBC News investigative reporter Connie Walker as she joins a family as they search for their sister Cleo Nicotine Semaganis. In the early 1970s, Cleo and her five siblings were apprehended by child welfare authorities in Saskatchewan. The children were adopted into white families across North America. All but one of the siblings have reconnected and have been told various mysterious stories about what happened to Cleo, but they can't find her.
*Authentic Indigenous Voices
Tasha Hubbard, 2016
National Film Board of Canada
In this deeply moving feature-length documentary, three sisters and a brother meet for the first time. Removed from their young Dene mother during the infamous Sixties Scoop, they were separated as infants and adopted into families across North America.
*Authentic Indigenous Voices
Alanis Obomsawin, 1986
National Film Board of Canada
Richard Cardinal died by his own hand at the age of 17, having spent most of his life in a string of foster homes and shelters across Alberta. In this short documentary, Abenaki director Alanis Obomsawin weaves excerpts from Richard’s diary into a powerful tribute to his short life. Released in 1984—decades before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission—the film exposed the systemic neglect and mistreatment of Indigenous children in Canada’s child welfare system.
*Authentic Indigenous Voices
The forced removal of Indigenous children from their families through Canada's Indian Residential School System, the Sixties Scoop, the Millennium Scoop, and Canada's child welfare system, has been – and continues to be – an integral aspect of colonialism in Canada. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada published volume 5 of the final report, Canada's Residential School's: The Legacy.
Canadians have an obligation to listen, learn, and take action. This research guide is but one starting point. If you have suggestions for resources to add to the Camosun collection, please contact us with your ideas.
Caution: Many of the resources in this guide contain discussions or scenes of violence or representations of trauma which may be painful for readers/viewers – please exercise care.
If you need help: The KUU-US Crisis Line Society provides 24-hour phone support for Indigenous people in BC. The KUU-US Crisis Line can be reached toll-free at 1-800-588-8717. Individuals can also call the Youth Line at 250-723-2040 or the Adult Line at 250-723-4050.
The Indian Residential School Crisis Line 1-866-925-4419 is available 24-hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of their or a loved one's residential school experience.
Camosun students can access help from the Counselling Centre. For resources related to emergency and after hours support, on-campus support, and other information, visit the Counselling Centre Resources webpage.
Allyson D. Stevenson, 2021
Call number: HV 875.7 C2 S74 2021
*Authentic Indigenous Voices
Colleen Cardinal, foreword by Raven Sinclair
Call Number: HV 874.82 C37 A3 2018
*Authentic Indigenous Voices
Susan Devan Harness, 2019
Ebook
*Authentic Indigenous Voices
David B. MacDonald, 2019
Call number: E 92 M33 2019
Lisa Bird-Wilson , 2016
Ebook
*Authentic Indigenous Voices
Margaret D. Jacobs, 2014
Ebook
Carol Rose Goldeneagle (previously Daniels), 2015
Call number: PS 8607 A5567 B43 2015
*Authentic Indigenous Voices
This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new windowBeyond Canada's Indian Residential School System and the Sixties Scoop, the forced removal of Indigenous children from their families and the forced sterilization of Indigenous women continues in Canada to this day.
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