Dozens of Métis survivors of the ’60s Scoop shared their stories over the weekend at a symposium in Winnipeg in the first of a series of conversations to discuss what they want from the Canadian government.
The two-day event, hosted by the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), brought Métis National Council (MNC) leaders together with survivors to collect input, which will then be presented to the federal government as they work toward reconciliation.
“For the Métis nation, it’s our first time being finally recognized and included,” MMF president David Chartrand told Global News during at break at Sunday’s conference.
Last year, the federal government announced that it would pay hundreds of millions of dollars to First Nations children who were taken from their homes and placed with non-Indigenous families, but Métis survivors were not included in the package.
Chartrand hopes to have an agreement in place with the feds before the next federal election in October 2019.
“A lot of (survivors) are asking to create programs,” he said. “Programs to help find themselves again.”
A trauma team was on site all weekend at the symposium, which took place at the Fort Gary Hotel, to support survivors in attendance.
Chartrand said many of the stories were hard to listen to.
“I don’t know how many times I cried yesterday, and again even this morning, listening to the stories.”