He wouldn’t usually be wearing a bow-tie, not even at four-and-a-half years old, but this was the ’60s Scoop era, after all.
And it was to look good in picture that was placed in a Saskatoon newspaper under the heading: Today’s Child.
It means he was up for adoption.
“[I was] dressed up like a puppy for adoption because I was stolen from my original family,” said Wayne Garnons-Williams, on Nation to Nation.
Three years ago, ’60s Scoop survivors reached an $875 million settlement with Canada after the thousands of Indigenous children were ripped from their homes and given away to other families, some ending up across the world.
There’s been many stories over recent years of families reconnecting.
Part of the settlement is the establishment of a $50-million healing foundation that was unveiled Thursday.
Garnons-Williams was appointed to the board of directors.
“One of the things that is a priority is cultural reclamation and it’s reunification,” he said.
Garnons-Williams is a lawyer and consultant on international trade between Indigenous peoples.
Read More: APTN News coverage of the ’60s Scoop
Nation to Nation also spoke to a familiar face in Sen. Murray Sinclair, who provided his views on the current affairs affecting Indigenous people across Canada.
That includes the climbing rates of COVID-19 in Manitoba.
“I think, generally, Manitoba is suffering from just a lack of provincial government preparedness and planning,” Sinclair said.
Catch both interviews below including scenes from the healing foundation virtual ceremony.
