Manitoba Métis Fed. creates $2M fund for ’60s Scoop survivors

The Manitoba Metis Federation is set to step up support for survivors of the ‘60s Scoop with a new fund aimed at offering them sustainable financial assistance.

The ‘60s Scoop occurred between 1950 and 1960 when Indigenous children were forcibly taken from their families and placed into non-Indigenous homes. Many Métis children were caught in this system, often sent to unfamiliar environments, where they lost their language, culture, and identity.

“The country knew they did this, that’s a fact they already settled for First Nation, they knew they did this to the Metis children,” said David Chartrand, Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) President. 

 “Many were taken and sold in the United States. We have all sorts of certificates that could show children were sold for $10 and $25,” he said.

To address the ongoing harm, MMF has opened applications for their Bridge to Justice Fund. The fund will provide up to $5,000 for eligible Red River Métis ‘60s Scoop survivors, with MMF providing $2 million of its own funding for the initiative.

This comes as the ’60s Scoop Métis and Non-Status Indian Class Action, certified in 2021, continues in court, with MMF now listed as an intervenor. 

However, Chartrand says they are also filing their own lawsuit, which he says is waiting on Canada’s response to the claim to finalize, as at the end of the month the Government of Canada should have their defence filed.

“The ‘60s Scoop survivors are dying. They’re leaving this world. They’re never going to see a settlement of any sort and many won’t be able to appreciate that this country tried to correct the wrongs,” he said. 

Survivor Coleen Rajotte, was born in Winnipeg and later reunited with her birth family in Little Pine First Nation. Rajotte was part of the 2018 multimillion-dollar settlement for Indigenous children placed in a non-Indigenous foster home.

“They wanted us to take that money so they could say we dealt with those ‘60s Scoop survivors and brush us under the carpet,” she said. “So, to me it was a complete slap in the face, and I didn’t take that settlement money.

Rajotte says more needs to be done on a federal and provincial level and says even now, there are still many survivors all over Canada, North America and Europe that still have zero closure.

“Many of these survivors need to come home and need to have supports to meet their real families,” she said. 

CityNews reached out to the Government of Canada for comment on Friday, but a response was not received.