Donation protected
My name is Margaret August (previously Briere) and I am a Coast Salish artist from the Sechelt Nation. Art has been an integral part of understanding who I am as a Coast Salish woman alongside being a space to heal from the impacts of colonization. Personally myself
and my family have been deeply impacted by the governmental legislation that removed Indigenous children from their homes and communities and placed them in non native homes. Today we know this as the sixties scoop and unfortunately some of my family never got the chance to heal from the loss of culture, identity, community, land, and family.
In the recent months I applied for the sixties scoop settlement, as I was in and out of the child welfare system from 3 to 12 years old. After several months of going back and forth with lawyers I received a letter stating " notice of intent to reject individual payment application" on that basis that the government was "unable to confirm that I was placed in long term care with non-indigenous parents within the meaning of the settlement agreement". Thus I would need to send in further proof of the time and locations of my foster care placements. This news was heartbreaking, as this process has been for many sixties scoop survivors and family members.
With this happening, I woke up in the morning after receiving the letter and had a conversation with my partner. We talked about the ways the government manipulates these processes and there really is not justice. Yet where there is justice in our cultures. Culture truly is a space where we can be seen for who we are, full humans who are deserving of respect, connection, love and kindness. Thus my partner said she would host a ceremony to celebrate the ways I have healed from the intergenerational impacts of the sixties scoop. Further I decided to begin this page to fundraise for a new computer. I was hoping, if I received a settlement, to buy a new computer as I do not own my own computer in this moment. This is a gift for me so I can continue on my art path a path which supports me to reclaim my sense of self and well being. A path that triumphs over the disconnected self the sixties scoop intended for indigenous people across turtle Island.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story
All my relations
Margaret August
* please check out my art page to see my current works*
www.skwetuart.com
and my family have been deeply impacted by the governmental legislation that removed Indigenous children from their homes and communities and placed them in non native homes. Today we know this as the sixties scoop and unfortunately some of my family never got the chance to heal from the loss of culture, identity, community, land, and family.
In the recent months I applied for the sixties scoop settlement, as I was in and out of the child welfare system from 3 to 12 years old. After several months of going back and forth with lawyers I received a letter stating " notice of intent to reject individual payment application" on that basis that the government was "unable to confirm that I was placed in long term care with non-indigenous parents within the meaning of the settlement agreement". Thus I would need to send in further proof of the time and locations of my foster care placements. This news was heartbreaking, as this process has been for many sixties scoop survivors and family members.
With this happening, I woke up in the morning after receiving the letter and had a conversation with my partner. We talked about the ways the government manipulates these processes and there really is not justice. Yet where there is justice in our cultures. Culture truly is a space where we can be seen for who we are, full humans who are deserving of respect, connection, love and kindness. Thus my partner said she would host a ceremony to celebrate the ways I have healed from the intergenerational impacts of the sixties scoop. Further I decided to begin this page to fundraise for a new computer. I was hoping, if I received a settlement, to buy a new computer as I do not own my own computer in this moment. This is a gift for me so I can continue on my art path a path which supports me to reclaim my sense of self and well being. A path that triumphs over the disconnected self the sixties scoop intended for indigenous people across turtle Island.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story
All my relations
Margaret August
* please check out my art page to see my current works*
www.skwetuart.com
Organizer
Nicole Mandryk
Organizer
Victoria, BC