What was the Sixties Scoop?

The Sixties Scoop refers to the mass removal of Indigenous children from their families and communities and their placement with non-Indigenous foster or adoptive families, principally through provincial child welfare systems, from the late 1950s through the 1980s. The term was coined by Patrick Johnston in his 1983 report Native Children and the Child Welfare System for the Canadian Council on Social Development. An estimated 20,000 Indigenous children were removed during the period and many were placed with families in the United States, in other provinces, or in other countries.

The Sixties Scoop followed the federal-provincial expansion of provincial child welfare jurisdiction onto reserves under amendments to the Indian Act in 1951 and federal-provincial agreements in the 1960s. Provincial child welfare authorities apprehended Indigenous children from families and communities at rates many times the non-Indigenous rate, often without adequate consideration of cultural identity, language, or community ties. Many children lost contact with their biological families, communities, and cultures, with profound and lasting harms to the survivors and their descendants.

Sixties Scoop survivor litigation began in earnest in the 2000s. The Ontario Class Action Brown v. Canada (2017) found Canada liable for breach of fiduciary duty for failing to take steps to ensure Sixties Scoop adoptees retained their cultural identity. The federal Sixties Scoop Settlement Agreement of November 30, 2017 (approved by the Federal Court on August 14, 2018) provided up to $750 million in individual compensation (between $25,000 and $50,000 per eligible claimant) and $50 million for a Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation. About 35,000 individuals were eligible. The Settlement covered registered Indians and Inuit children removed and placed with non-Indigenous families between January 1, 1951 and December 31, 1991.

The Sixties Scoop and the Indian residential schools system are linked elements of a broader federal assimilation policy directed at Indigenous children. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action 1 to 5 (child welfare) directly address the legacy and call for federal-provincial reform. An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Metis children, youth and families (the federal Indigenous Child Welfare Act, in force January 1, 2020) recognises the inherent Indigenous right to self-government over child and family services and establishes national minimum standards. The Tribunal in First Nations Child and Family Caring Society v. Canada (2016 onward) has issued more than 25 compliance orders requiring federal funding reform.