Airmail box free#

The Sixties Scoop caused many families to be torn apart and caused Indigenous children to lose their sense of identity and culture. Only recently have people, especially the government, begun to acknowledge the trauma and harm that the Sixties Scoop caused to Indigenous peoples. The trauma that this would have caused to both mother and child is incalculable. There is no way that a mistake like this should ever happen, but it was a common experience during the Sixties Scoop. Should have my son back by the weekend.вЂќ The ACPA took a child from the wrong mother. She says, вЂњThe idiots had me mixed up with a woman in Medicine Hat.

This is reflected in the way that OrenaвЂ™s cousinвЂ™s child was taken from her. An object to be traded and given away is a sad, yet true, analogy about the way Indigenous children were treated.ДЄnother aspect of the Sixties Scoop that King chooses to attack in this short story is the disorganization of the Alberta Child Placement Agency and their lack of concern for doing their job correctly. The mayor settles on the plan of packaging the White baby with the Ford truck as the grand prize for the communityвЂ™s bingo night.

Airmail box free#

Statements such as, вЂњMaybe itвЂ™s one of those free samples,вЂќ вЂњSend it backвЂќ and вЂњThereвЂ™s no return address,вЂќ highlight the attitudes many families would have had about adopting Indigenous children in the Sixties. While the councilors discuss who ordered a White baby and what they are supposed to do with it, they discuss the baby as though it is just an object that can be sent or given away at will. KingвЂ™s satirical choice to have the White baby arrive in an airmail box is a statement about the dehumanization that took place during the Sixties Scoop. Not once is the name Sixties Scoop mentioned, but the dialogue and analogy of a baby showing up in an airmail box points the reader to this horrific event. The short story is written in an incredibly subtle, but effective way. King attacks the Sixties Scoop by acknowledging the racist policies that ripped families apart. The displacement of thousands of Indigenous children during the Sixties Scoop is just one more dark spot in the history of CanadaвЂ™s treatment of Indigenous peoples. After all, вЂњWhite babies are very popular.вЂќ

Linda makes sure to point out that, вЂњTheyвЂ™re IndiansвЂќ and it is obvious from the ensuing discussion that this disqualifies them from being able to adopt a White baby. As confusion ensues in the council about who would order a White baby, Ben and Linda from the Alberta Child Placement Agency look for any excuse to refuse giving a White baby to Mr. The story begins with the arrival of a White baby on the Rocky Creek First Nation. вЂњThe Baby in the Airmail BoxвЂќ is a short story in Thomas KingвЂ™s collection, A Short History of Indians in Canada: Stories, which uses satire to challenge our understanding of the Sixties Scoop.