College hosts Sixties Scoop exhibit

By Ry Clarke - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on September 30, 2022.

Herald photo by Ry Clarke A visitor looks through the Bi-Gwen: Coming Home - Truth Telling from the Sixties Scoop exhibit on display as part of Truth and Reconciliation Week at Lethbridge College.

Lethbridge College hosted a public exhibit documenting the experiences of Sixties Scoop survivors as part of Truth and Reconciliation Week, showcasing the piece from Sept. 26 – 30.

Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Alberta presented the exhibit, promoting reconciliation, healing, education, and advocacy of survivors and their families.

“We are grateful for the opportunity, the Sixties Scoop can get overshadowed by a lot of events going on this week with Indigenous history in Canada,” said Sandra Relling, president of the society. “The Sixties Scoop was when many Indigenous children were literally scooped from their homes on reserves, and placed into non-Indigenous homes, not just in Canada, but across the world.”

Looking to engage with attendees at the event, the exhibit was titled Bi-Giwen: Coming Home – Truth Telling from the Sixties Scoop, and showcased testimonies from twelve Indigenous survivors.

“There is a lot of engagement with the exhibit,” said Relling. “There has been a lot of traffic going through, with a lot of questions being asked about how this could happen, and what the end results were.”

It also noted engagement with the survivor’s stories and the impacts and trauma that they have experienced as a result.

Relling pointed out the importance to educate on the topic, saying awareness of these periods in history go alongside the Residential School system.

“We want people to know that those policies of assimilation never stopped when Residential Schools closed, that the Sixties group is a continuation of those assimilation policies,” said Relling.

The exhibit was very impactful on bringing to light another event that affected the Indigenous people in Canada.

“Having that truth telling and the honesty of the stories that we are sharing with people,” said Relling “(and) How we fit into the whole Canadian society and what we can do to help move reconciliation forward.”

With the exhibit hosted during Reconciliation Week in Lethbridge, the message rang strong to the events going on within the city, helping shed light on Indigenous history and pathways to reconciliation.

“Primarily, with it being Truth and Reconciliation Week, people open their hearts and their minds to this new form of education where we are sharing our experiences,” said Relling. “We really need to get that truth out there in order for there to be moving forward in reconciliation.”