This study used life experience methods to gather the narratives of seven adult
Indigenous transracial adoptees who have reclaimed their Indigenous identities after
experiencing closed adoption during the late 1950s through to the early 1980s.
Participants had been members of Aboriginal (First Nations, Metis, Inuit) communities at
birth but were then raised outside their Indigenous nations in non-Indigenous families.
Through analysis of their stories, I identified four themes that marked their trajectories to
reclamation: Imposed fracture (prior to reclamation); Little anchors (beginning healing);
Coming home (on being whole); Our sacred bundle (reconciling imposed fracture). Their
stories of reconnecting to their Indigeneity, decolonizing and healing illustrate their shifts
from hegemonic discourse spaces that characterized their lived experiences as “other” to
spirit-based discourses that center Indigenous knowledge systems as valid, life affirming,
and life changing. This dissertation contributes to the debate on state sanctioned removal
of children and the impacts of loss of Indigenous identity in Canadian society. My
findings indicate that cultural and spiritual teachings and practices, as well as, the
knowledge of colonization and its impacts on Indigenous families, communities, and
nations, all contributed to adoptees’ healing and ability to move forward in their lives.
Key recommendations include: further exploration of the concept of cultural genocide in
relation to settler-colonial relations in Canada; further examination of the intersection of
counter-narratives, resistance discourse, and colonial violence; increased investigation of
the connections between Indigenous knowledge systems, living spirit-based teachings
and educative aspects of community wellness; and more research examining education
beyond formal schooling, including the formative effects upon Indigenous youth of social
values, public policy, and legal frameworks.
Wright Cardinal, S. (2017). Beyond the sixties scoop: reclaiming indigenous identity, reconnection to place, and reframing understandings of being indigenous (Doctoral dissertation).