Thread by @IndigenousXca

On May 28, 2018, @RachelNotley stood up in the Legislative assembly of Alberta and spoke these words.

She was the second Premier in Canada to do so.

These next tweets are about what it took to hear those words.

I would like to acknowledge @SSISADRIVEN .

They are the Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Alberta.

I was part of the board of directors.

Please take time and follow them. It's a new account. The board is made up entirely of #60sScoop survivors. They could use support.

They are a non profit organization. They worked tirelessly to educate and help form the official apology from the Government of Alberta.

Countless hours went into working with @FeehanRichard and @DanielleLarivee and the staff at Children's Services and Indigenous Relations.

How it started in Alberta.

In 2015, Greg Selenger apologized to survivors of the #60sScoop in Manitoba. At the time, it was the only public acknowledgement of the harms done by Gov't to Indigenous people by the actions of the #60sScoop

The words he spoke had a profound effect on one particular survivor. Adam NorthPeigan. He is currently the President of the Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Alberta. He is a survivor. He was taken, along with 9 other siblings and put in various foster homes across Alberta

After watching Greg Selenger speak, he sat back, like most men, and complained to his partner how it was unfair. She, like all strong women, told him to get off his ass and do something about it or stop complaining.

He got off his ass.

sorry Adam. (not sorry)lol

He started with a visit to his local MLA. He wrote letters. He waited for responses. He got one. There was a meeting. He shared his story. He spoke of wanting to hear an official apology.

Gov't of Alberta was not willing to do so at that time.

They hoped that once he got his story off his chest, he would let it go. They hoped he would go away. This never happened.

Their seemingly indifference only made him more determined. He wrote more letters. He made more phone calls. Nothing.

Finally after no action, he reached out to the Indigenous Relations critic of the official opposition. Asked for help. Dave Hanson stepped up. He and Adam devised a plan. Adam organized a rally of #60sScoop survivors the day the Gov't of Alberta was to release the budget.

That was budget day for the Gov't of Alberta 2017. Dave Hanson stood up and asked the Premier if she would ever give an apology to the #60sScoop survivors of Alberta. Rachel Notley said yes.

What followed was history making.

Never before had a Gov't worked with grass roots people. It had always been with the Indigenous leadership. SSISA was formed shortly after @FeehanRichard phoned Adam to set up it's first meeting with a smaĺl group of survivors from Alberta. I was lucky enough to be one of them

We were invited to sit down with @FeehanRichard and @DanielleLarivee . They spoke of how the Premier wanted to give an apology but wanted impact statements from more survivors than the SSISA board.

At the time, we had really no idea how to do that. This was new ground.

The Gov't of Alberta had no idea either. It was new ground for them as well. After a few more meetings, a committee was formed with staff from Indigenous Relations, Children's Services, and the board of directors of SSISA.

Before I go further, I'd like to say why an apology was important to me. Why I wanted to hear the words on the floor of the Legislative assembly of Alberta.

It was for my Mom.

I remember heading to a meeting with the committee and I called her.

We talked about what I was doing. I'll never forget how she cried. How angry she was at the Gov't for splitting us up.

We had been in each other's lives for 25 years. We had reconnected. We talk and laugh together. Hearing what I was doing still brought her to tears.

She asked if parents would be included. Would the Gov't of Alberta say sorry to the Moms and Dads. I said yes they would. They did.

assemblyonline.assembly.ab.ca/Harmony/en/Pow…

The apology in full.

assemblyonline.assembly.ab.ca/Harmony/en/Pow…

You can hear those words here. Dave Hansen also spoke on behalf of the UCP Party. David Swann spoke on behalf of the Liberal Party.

I need to break here for the evening. Sorry, family comes first. I'll pick up from here tomorrow. Still lots to share about work done to get to the apology

Good morning!

First some shout outs to some people who worked along side @SSISADRIVEN . They showed compassion, integrity, patience. They helped guide us through all the burocraccy to get to the end result.
@TheresHurst
Megan Norris
Gloria Iatradis
Clay Buchanan

These were the senior officials who helped. @TheresHurst and Megan Norris sat at every meeting. They attended all 6 engagement sessions. They helped organize these events. All done without complaint or complacency. They got the things done that needed to happen.

The @SSISADRIVEN board.
Adam NorthPeigan
Sharon Gladue-Paskimin
@SandraRelling
Kathy Hamelin
Orlando Alexis
Our admin staff member @wildman_wiya
(Lena is also the one who kicked Adam's ass to get this thing going).

Former members Dave Herman and Richard Monias

To all the staff from the Gov't of Alberta who worked along side @SSISADRIVEN , this survivor would like to say THANK YOU!

The meetings that took place over several months ended with this result

Board of directors and @DanielleLarivee and @FeehanRichard

Survivors gathered at these 6 sessions across Alberta and were asked to answer 4 questions. The answers given helped form the apology and work to follow.

Large art canvases were set up at each engagement session. Survivors were encouraged to express themselves on these canvasses.

To ALL survivors who attended I want to say

THANK YOU

Thank you for your courage.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you for your stories.

Important side note:

Settlement money was never discussed at any of these engagements. This was to help with reconciliation and healing.

The settlement which has yet to be finalized is from the Federal Gov't of Canada.

Hearings were postponed due to the judge in Ontario wanting justification of fees being administered to the 4 law firms involved in this omnibus class action.

I talk a bit about that later.

So, that in a few tweets is how @RachelNotley came to stand before her peers and speak the words she did.

The individual people I mentioned were key organizers for this event.

The real hero's here were the survivors and their families. It was their courage that carried us.