Date set for Sixties Scoop apology
- EFN Staff | December 20, 2018
A date has been scheduled for an official apology to the Sixties Scoop survivors of Saskatchewan. The apology will take place on Monday, January 7th, 2019 at the Legislative Building in Regina. Robert Doucette, a Sixties Scoop survivor and the former President of the Metis Nation – Saskatchewan (MN-S), said he is happy to know an apology will soon be made.
“I’m very happy about that. I know there are some that don’t care about an apology but in my family, we do care about it and we’re very happy,” he said. “When I hear that apology, I’m going to be doubly happy because as a Sixties Scoop survivor, it’ll validate that my family didn’t do anything wrong and it wasn’t their fault when I was scooped.”
Doucette’s original request went back to 2015 when he was the MN-S President and he had asked former Premier Brad Wall to follow the steps of the Premier of Manitoba to issue an apology to all Sixties Scoop survivors. This year, the Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Saskatchewan (SSISS) was formed where First Nations and Metis Sixties Scoop survivors come together in a legal entity to represent the Sixties Scoop survivors of Saskatchewan.
“We were adamant that the voices of the Sixties Scoop survivors had to be heard and we formed a partnership with the government,” he said. “We had six sharing circles where Sixties Scoop survivors did come and tell us what they thought about what would be a meaningful apology. It was only a matter of doing hard work and ensuring that the voices of Sixties Scoop survivors were up front and centre. That’s exactly what has happened.”
Doucette said he always knew an apology would eventually happen.
“I always believed it would happen,” he said. “I think it’s a step in the right direction. It affirms the process of reconciliation between Aboriginal people in Saskatchewan and the government of Saskatchewan. It’s a very good way to start 2019 with a real good story.”
Doucette extended his appreciation to the Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society Board.
“This issue had to be told. The stories had to be heard. We have suffered a lot but we are also survivors. With this apology, we have maintained that there should be some action done from the government with respect with what’s going on today in the current system.”
The scheduled date for the Sixties Scoop survivors apology was announced earlier this week.