The Southern Chiefs’ Organization launches campaign aimed at ’60s Scoop

The Southern Chiefs' Organization launched a campaign called Stronger than the Scoop on Wednesday to help members of SCO nations heal from the effects of the '60s Scoop.

As a way to care for those impacted by the ’60s Scoop, a Manitoba organization is launching a new education and awareness campaign.

The Southern Chiefs’ Organization launched its campaign, titled Stronger than the Scoop, on Wednesday. The campaign focuses on aiding those from SCO’s member nations with a healing gathering scheduled in the coming days.

In a press release on Wednesday, SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said that acknowledging the harm done by the ’60s Scoop is important for healing.

“We often talk about resilience when it comes to our peoples, and that certainly applies to those who survived the ’60s Scoop,” Daniels said. “We need to acknowledge the systemic harm and generational trauma that was caused and do what we can to help with healing.”

According to the SCO, the ’60s Scoop is defined as a period in which a series of federal and provincial policies enabled child welfare authorities to take First Nation children from their families to be placed in foster care and adoptive homes. The release notes that many of the children taken “were adopted by non-Indigenous families.”

According to the organization, the period saw methods used by “colonial governments intent on removing First Nation children from their families, and wiping out First Nations cultures and traditions.”

Other programs hosted by the SCO include the Pathways to Healing Program, with more information available online.

“While we cannot turn back the hands of time, we can still commit to doing everything we possibly can to help our survivors and their families regain their languages, cultures, and identities,” Daniels said. “To our survivors, I see you and I honour you for what you have experienced. I stand with you as you move forward on your healing journeys.”