Colleen Hele-Cardinal is a mother, author, and survivor of the Sixties Scoop, a practice that took Indigenous children away from their families and into the foster homes over a period of thirty years. Despite being a recent part of Canada’s shameful treatment of the Indigenous peoples, there is little information about what happened or addressed in schools.

She joins hosts Gilad Cohen and Simona Ramkisson this week to talk about how she perceived being Indigenous as a child and the self-loathing she experienced, and how intergenerational trauma has affected her life decades after the practice ended.

Canada has failed to address its past treatment of Indigenous peoples and has actively refused to acknowledge their responsibilities to correct previous administrations.

Colleen has done important work with the National Indigenous Survivors of Child Welfare Network to force Canada to address the Sixties Scoop and build a more compassionate community for the victims. This podcast is an essential conversation to get a more enriched understanding of the Sixties Scoop and how it continues to affect thousands of Indigenous people.

Hosted by Gilad Cohen (Founder, JAYU) and Simona Ramkisson, produced and edited by Brandon Fragomeni and Alex Castellani. Associate Producer: Ron Ma.

The show is a JAYU production. JAYU is a Toronto-based charity that shares human rights stories through the arts. JAYU has an annual Human Rights Film Festival, a photography empowerment project and more. You can learn more about JAYU here.

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