Politics
Charting lost childhoods GIS mapping project will visualize 60s Scoop displacements by Patrick Quinn
W
hile the recent announcement of interim payments for eligible Sixties Scoop survivors as part of a $750 million class-action settlement may bring some a sense of closure, there remain many unresolved issues for those whose traditional culture and homeland were taken from them during childhood.
Dr Raven Sinclair and co founders of Sixties Scoop Network Elaine Kicknosway and Colleen Hele Cardinal
26 the Nation June 19, 2020 www.nationnews.ca
From the 1950s until well into the International will soon be launching the 1980s, tens of thousands of Indigenous project in partnership with the Sixties children were systematically removed Scoop Network, formerly known as from their homes and families, placed the National Indigenous Survivors in foster homes and eventually adopted of Child Welfare Network, and Dr. out to white families Raven Sinclair’s from across Canada Pe-kīwēwin Project. and beyond. A new “I know there’s Visualizing this project intends to a need to show data in an interacraise awareness what it actually tive world map is about the worldlooks like trafficknot only eye-openwide scope of this ing Indigenous ing for website displacement while children from one providing important place to another,” viewers but also resources for surviexplained Sixties enables researchers vors. Scoop Network and Indigenous In our own co-founder Colleen communities to Words: Mapping Hele-Cardinal. “I identify regional the Stories of 60s think once people trends about where Scoop Survivors see that, they’ll get children were taken Diaspora is an innoit. They’ll be like, vative Geographic ‘How could Canada and where they Information System do this?’” ended up (GIS) mapping platThe voluntary form to help surproject enables vivors share their survivors to directly stories and visualize their move- input the amount of biographical informents around the world. Amnesty mation they are comfortable with and
