Meet the Sixties Scoop survivor writing children's books for Indigenous children in foster care

Separated from his family and culture in childhood, Anishinaabe Algonquin author S.P. Joseph Lyons is writing children's books to reach Indigenous children in foster care today. 

The author's book, Little Bear Goes to Foster Care, won an Indigenous Literary Award from the Periodical Marketers of Canada in October. It is inspired by the over-representation of Indigenous kids in foster care, along with his own healing journey, and is available in English and Anishinaabemowin.

Based in St. Marys, Ont., Lyons is a survivor of the Sixties Scoop, a period in Canadian history from 1961 to the 1980s when Indigenous children were taken from their families and adopted by mainly settler Canadians. 

Afternoon Drive's Allison Devereaux talked to Lyons, from Kitigan Zibi First Nation in Quebec, to learn more. 

Q. Tell us your own family history that shaped this book, Little Bear Goes to Foster Care.

A: In care as an Indigenous person, I was in homes that were very abusive. I had no voice, I had no supports — disconnected from family, from bands, from everything. I felt very isolated, alone and scared. There were really no options back then. 

As I hit adulthood, I thought there were still Indigenous children in care today. Wouldn't it be great if they had some of the support that I didn't have? So I wrote Little Bear Goes to Foster Care specifically for Indigenous children in care to give them some answers and to give them some hope in a very scary and confusing time. 

Q: Can you talk about the main messages in this book? What is it you wished to hear when you were younger?

A: When I was younger, I would have loved to know what was going on. What has happened? Where is my family? Why am I in this place now? Am I ever going to see my family again? 

It was my adopted parents that had to tell me what had happened, that this was now my new home. They were the ones that cleared up the mystery for me. I wish there had been people advocating for me. I'm an adult now, and I still have those holes of: Do I really fit in? Do I really belong? Is this really where I'm meant to be?

I'm hoping that a message in this book is to say to these little ones: 'We know how you feel. You can ask for your family or community to come together, to walk with you and to support you.'

It's not just for the kids. It's for their caregivers. It's for schools. It's for other children who may have Indigenous children in their class who are in foster care to have a little bit of a better understanding of what this person is going through and how to be a better friend as a result. 

LISTEN: Anishinaabe Algonquin author S.P. Joseph Lyons talks about Little Bear Goes to Foster Care on CBC Afternoon Drive:

Q: Did you find ways to connect with your birth family's history eventually?