Siblings Joseph Lambert and Donna Morin wait anxiously at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport for a sister they’ve never met.
“I’ll probably just be crying, it’s hard to say what’s going to happen because I’m in shock still,” said Morin.
They and their sister, Melody Roberts, are ’60s Scoop survivors, and were separated from their family at a young age. From the 1950s to the 1980s, government policy allowed First Nations, Metis and Inuit children to be removed from their families and adopted by non-Indigenous parents.
When Roberts finally landed, travelling in from Oregon, the three embraced and tears of joy were shed.
“The heart is just bursting, bursting with happiness,” explained Roberts.
“I’m just really looking forward to get to knowing my sister and brother more. My adopted family told me I was Indigenous, I was adopted when I understood what it meant, but they never told me about the ’60s Scoop. I’m not even sure they knew about it when I was taken from the hospital.
Lambert and Morin were only able to meet a year ago after working with a service provider. Despite their short time together, they’ve built a strong connection and are making up for lost time by spending as much time together as possible, including this past Christmas.
“It’s fun, you know,” explained Lambert. “I can be open with her and I want to be open with her. It’s no time now for silly lies and stories; that ain’t happening. Everything’s straight up. It’s love — there’s a lot of love between us, I think.”
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Uniting the three was made possible with help from the Hope Centre and ’60s Scoop Alliance of Manitoba. The Hope Centre started by looking through the post-adoption papers and doing some research, eventually finding Roberts living in Oregon.
“I think their story needs to be told,” explained Susanna Tasse, a community outreach coordinator with the Hope Centre. “It’s heartbreaking that the parents aren’t here. I know the mother died of a broken heart but they have each other and I think they’ll live through that and I do hope we honour the parents event though they passed on. They never got to be here, to see this and to unite their children.”
During the visit, the Hope Centre organized a lunch where the siblings were able to spend time with other family members, and Roberts could begin learning more about where she came from. Pictures of loved ones were shared, immediately striking a chord with Roberts.
“Just figuring out a lot of stuff about my family,” explained Roberts. “It’s warming to see the resemblances, and finding a little information about them and where they’re at and what they did, it’s been wonderful”
Recent studies suggest around 20,000 children were taken from their families as part of the ’60s Scoop.
In this case, Roberts paid for her own ticket to travel to Winnipeg, but Coleen Rajotte with the ’60s Scoop Alliance of Manitoba believes governments need to step up to make sure families are able to connect and those who do have the support they need.
“There used to be a repatriation program in Manitoba that funded Sixties Scoop survivors to come back home and that no longer exists,” explained Rajotte.
“We are lobbying to have something like that put in place again. We need funding and resources to get ’60s Scoop survivors back to their families. There’s so much more work to be done. People have lost their language and their connection to family and community and that needs to be rebuilt.”
As for what’s next for the siblings, the plan is to continue to build their relationships even after Robert finished her Winnipeg visit.
“It’s going to be great, I don’t have a worry about it. We’re going to keep in touch, it’s going to be great.” said Roberts.
Aside from keeping in touch, the plan is also to soon make a trip south of the border to see Roberts’ home as well.
“I want to go to Oregon,” explained Lambert. “It’s beautiful there. She’s sent me lots of pictures from there, the fishing is fantastic, looking forward to it.”
I’m adopted. It wasn’t a bad thing to be adopted but a beautiful gift. I have no desire to find my biological family because I have a family.