“Selling the Sixties Scoop” Article by Stevenson Essay

The article written by Allyson Stevenson and titled “Selling the Sixties Scoop: Saskatchewan’s Adopt Indian and Métis Project” focuses on the program called Adopt Indian and Métis Project. The latter was initially implemented between 1967 and 1969, when white families and households were encouraged to engage in the transracial adoption of Indian and Metis children.[1] It should be noted that around 42% of all children in foster homes were from Indian or Métis groups, despite the fact these groups were only 7.5% of the total population.[2] During the given period, the program was promoted through ads, where were seen as highly racist and offensive by the Métis Society. Adopted children were prohibited from seeking out their biological parents and families, which highlights how Canada disregarded the Metis people.

The major strength of the article is the fact that it illuminates problematic periods in Canada’s history, where the Natives of the nations were severely and forcefully integrated. It is evident that representatives of the governmental agencies used bigoted and discriminatory practices in order to assimilate Indian and Metis people into the majority. For example, such paternalistic professionalism “unfairly targeted Indigenous families.”[3] The key weakness of the article is the lack of chronological or thematic structure. For example, it starts in 1962, shifts to 2017, and returns to 1969. [4] In other words, such an ordering seems distracting and incomprehensive for a rather short article. It would be more readable if it adhered to a chronological sequence of events with a small introductory statement in the paragraph.

References

Allyson Stevenson, “Selling the Sixties Scoop: Saskatchewan’s Adopt Indian and Métis Project, Active History.

Stevenson, “Selling the Sixties Scoop.”

Footnotes

1. Allyson Stevenson, “Selling the Sixties Scoop: Saskatchewan’s Adopt Indian and Métis Project, Active History. Web.
2. Stevenson, “Selling the Sixties Scoop.”
3. Stevenson, “Selling the Sixties Scoop.”
4. Stevenson, “Selling the Sixties Scoop.”