Lyonel Doherty
Times-Chronicle
Skye died on her 17th birthday less than a year after her mother passed away.
She had spent nearly 12 years in foster care under the Ministry of Children and Family Development.
She lived in eight different homes, attended eight schools and had 18 social workers.
She was offered no connection to her Indigenous culture and could not visit her “real” home.
Skye was yet another victim of the system that stripped her of any sense of belonging she needed to survive.
This “bubbly” little girl wasn’t born until four years after the last Canadian residential school closed its doors. But she too was removed from her family and culture to live life in a child welfare system that smacked of colonialism.
More than 67 per cent of the children currently in government care in B.C. are Indigenous, despite the fact that Indigenous people comprise less than 10 per cent of the total provincial population.
Skye’s mother was removed from her own family before her first birthday, adopted into a non-Indigenous home. She subsequently experienced extreme abuse.
Skye sadly followed in her mother’s footsteps as a result of that colonial system. Her life tragically ended with an overdose in August of 2017.
All she needed (all she wanted) was a sense of belonging, a sense of connection that all children deserve.
This is our ode to Skye, a story we can all learn from.
The following is a letter that Skye’s mom wrote to her daughter in 2015:
“I’m so sorry we didn’t get the chance to talk. However, I do understand.
As you know, I struggle with addiction issues myself, and over the past couple of days, knowing I was going to talk to you, I really wanted to use. But I didn’t. And believe me, it was hard not to use.
My heart really goes out to you! I really wish I could just hold you and let you know how much I love you.
I have always had you in my heart, and I have spent time every day since I last saw you, crying for you.
Please know that when or if you are able to talk to me or hopefully see me, I will be here.
Take care until then and be easy on yourself. I love you and will always love you no matter what.”
