For 30 years, native children were taken from their homes and sent to non-native foster care ... thanks to a government policy - completely separate from the residential schools program. We talk to a woman who lived through it and has now launched a class action lawsuit.

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Part Two of The Current

The Sixties Scoop - Sharon Russell

When she was a little girl, Sharon Russell was taken from her parents in Northern B.C. and put in foster care. She was one of thousands of aboriginal children apprehended in what has come to be known as The Sixties Scoop.

Between 1962 and 1992, provincial child welfare workers took native children out of their communities and put them into non-Aboriginal foster homes. It was part of a policy that existed separately from the federal government's residential school policy.

Sharon Russell was taken from her parents and placed in foster care as a child. She has now filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the people affected by it. Sharon Russell lives in New Hazelton, BC, but joined us from Vancouver this morning. Jason Murray represents Sharon Russell. He's a lawyer with Klein Lyons in Vancouver.

We requested a response from the federal government and the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development gave us this statement:

Canada is aware that a class action claim was filed in court by Sharon Russell... However, Canada has not been served with the Notice of Civil Action. As such, it would be premature to comment directly on the litigation.

Related Links:

• B.C. natives sue federal government for millions over 'Sixties' Scoop'
  By Suzanne Fournier - Postmedia News
• Civil Claim Lawsuit Document (PDF)

Other segments from today's show:

• Aggressive Deer
• Raising Elijah: Sandra Steingraber