Sixties Scoop Siblings Joseph Lambert and Donna Morin Reunite in Winnipeg

Siblings Joseph Lambert and Donna Morin waited anxiously at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport for a sister they’ve never met, after being separated during the ’60s Scoop.

“CBC News | Indigenous Loaded Indigenous Indigenous Video Indigenous VideoCarousel Page 1 of 3 End of carousel Indigenous Top Stories 'Good to be back': Sixties Scoop survivor raised in U”

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The reunion brought together Lambert, Morin, and Melody Roberts, who arrived travelling in from Oregon and said, “The heart is just bursting, bursting with happiness.”

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Global News described how government policy from the 1950s to the 1980s allowed First Nations, Metis and Inuit children to be removed from their families and adopted by non-Indigenous parents.

The Hope Centre organized a lunch during the visit so the siblings could spend time with other family members, and Roberts could begin learning more about where she came from.

Roberts said, “I’m just really looking forward to get to knowing my sister and brother more,” as the siblings made up for lost time by spending as much time together as possible, including this past Christmas.

Uniting the three was made possible with help from the Hope Centre and ’60s Scoop Alliance of Manitoba, with the Hope Centre starting by looking through the post-adoption papers and doing some research.

Susanna Tasse, a community outreach coordinator with the Hope Centre, said, “It’s heartbreaking that the parents aren’t here.”

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Tasse added that she hoped the parents would be honoured even though “They never got to be here, to see this and to unite their children.”

Coleen Rajotte with the ’60s Scoop Alliance of Manitoba said there used to be a repatriation program in Manitoba that funded Sixties Scoop survivors to come back home and that it “no longer exists,” and she said governments need to step up.

Rajotte said, “We are lobbying to have something like that put in place again,” and she called for funding and resources to get ’60s Scoop survivors back to their families.

In Manitoba, the Manitoba Métis Federation commemorates 2SLGBTQIA+ pride and Indigenous History Month in June through its “Faces of Pride” series focused on the Red River Métis community.

“Siblings Joseph Lambert and Donna Morin wait anxiously at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport for a sister they’ve never met”

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The federation highlighted Albert Beck as the Director of the Manitoba Métis Federation's (MMF) Sixties Scoop Department and said he is the first Red River Métis to be an Indigenous Fellow with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.

Beck encouraged Red River Métis Youth to speak their truth, saying, “Trust in yourself that you are your authentic self.”

The federation also profiled Sav Jonsa as the first non-binary person to host a national newscast in Canada, describing them as a transgender, non-binary, two-spirit Michif reporter for APTN National News.

Jonsa said, “I am tremendously grateful for the support found with my queer, two-spirit community,” linking the series’ celebration to community acceptance and identity.