Good on the 11 year old boy to speak out. I too, barely over a year old was apprehended along with my twin brother from our six sisters & brothers and two half sister and brother because of the racist policies of the 60s. Split up from my twin & surviving 16 foster homes by the time I was four, (Found records of my stays in 1994) It took a long time to realize, understand, and deal with why I was so full of hate and forlornness as a child with native life skills programs & doctors who one told me in 1983, come back in 8 years when you feel hopeless. ( I did not go back, even though 1991 was a time of change for native people after the Oka incident.
From self destructive patterning due to not liking myself, acting crazy , impulsive and always being intense, I was determined not to end up dead or in jail because this where society stereo typified us to be or end up in. Leaving racist systemic Alberta at 24 was my only choice as nothing was gong to change in redneck Alberta, and sadly after returning to Alberta 29 years later, nothing has changed in this city. Native people are still shunned, looked down upon and treated badly by the police, peace officers, and the courts of the justice system.
Moving to Salish Territory 1980 was a turning point for me 2 realizes my potential in life instead of just settling with the status quo. After a film & performing arts degree, I did what I had to do to survive. Under qualified, over-qualified, getting work was still problematic due to the racism in the film & television industry even when I got a job at CBC news, one producer during the production meeting, says, well, the Injuns are at it again, and this was a white middle class educated woman. 2010, we still have much work 2 do 2 eliminate racism in Canada.
See story at http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/06/16/man-truh-reconcilation-commission-foster-care.html#socialcomments-submit
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