Sixties scoop leaves bad memories for Sask. Mtis President and mother

MtisNation-Saskatchewan PresidentRobert Doucette and his mother Dianne Ludwig say the Sixties Scoop changed their lives forever. Now, they're taking part in a research group at the Universityof Saskatchewandesigned to examine mental health among First Nations, Mtisand Inuit people.

In the 1960s, thousands of aboriginal children were taken from their families and sent to live with white families.

"What happened that day was something that I will never forget," said Ludwig. "It was hurtful. Broke a lot of hearts."

Ludwig said her four-month-old son Robert was taken from her home in Buffalo Narrows shortly after a bridge was built into the community, connecting the northern Saskatchewan village with the outside world.

"We tried our best to look after him and raise him, show him love," he said. " But they said our standards of raising Robert weren't good enough."

Even though Ludwig was initially promised visitation rights, she didn't see her son for 18 years.

They said our standards of raising Robert weren't good enough.-DianneLudwig

"For 18 years I fought to see my son, but they would never tell me anything," she said. "And even today it breaks my heart to talk about it."

Once he grew up, Doucette fought hard to track his mother down.

"At times I really feel sad," he said. "My grandfather would always say in Cree, to my mother, 'Go and find Robert.' I want to see him before I die. And it was two years after he had died, that's when I met my family."

Doucette and his mother are now talking to a special research group at the U of S about their experiences. He says people are still feeling the effects of the Sixties Scoop to this day.

"A lot of Mtispeople, especially adults now, still carry the scars of their scoop," said Doucette. "When I talk to my brothers and sisters about this, they're really broken up."

Ludwig has joined a group of grandmothers working to keep families together.

"We go to court with families and we try and keep the children at home with their mothers or their kookhums," she said. "A long time ago, that was how it was."

Premier Brad Wall has said he plans to apologize for the province's role in the 60s scoop. Doucette said he's already been contacted by the government to get more information.

"An apology is really important, because it would validate that I didn't do anything wrong, that my parents were harmed, and our communities."