Hope for an apology and reconciliation: Provincial Government hears from Sixties Scoop survivors
LETHBRIDGE – To Adam North Peigan, June 17, 2015 was a very emotional day. It was the day when former Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger stood up in the provincial legislature and issued an official apology to all Sixties Scoop survivors in the province.
As a former Sixties Scoop survivor and President of the Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Alberta, North Peigan is now one of those leading the way for Premier Rachel Notley to do the same in the Alberta Legislature.
Over the course of three months, the provincial government is visiting six communities, including Peace River, Fort McMurray, Calgary, Edmonton, St. Paul and Lethbridge. The purpose is to engage survivors and their families to help the province form a meaningful apology in the future.
“What we would like to see,” explains Peigan, “is that the Premier actually stands up and says, ‘I’m sorry,’ and acknowledges the atrocities and there’s an acknowledgement that it was a dark chapter in Alberta’s history.”