Coleen Rajotte
Special to ICT 

FARGO, North Dakota — Lorraine Sinclair had been waiting for this moment her entire life.

Sinclair and her siblings, Cindy and Gerald Munro, traveled from Northern Manitoba in Canada to North Dakota to finally meet up with their long-missing sister.

Now known as Elizabeth Kostecky, she was taken from their family in 1971 during an era known as the Sixties Scoop, a period when Canadian authorities removed an estimated 30,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children from their homes. The siblings, who are Cree from the Sapotewayak Cree Nation in Manitoba, were among them.

Many of the Native children caught up in the Sixties Scoop were adopted into non-Native families across Canada, the United States and beyond. Elizabeth was just 1 year old when she was adopted by a White family in Minnesota. Lorraine, Cindy and Gerald were also taken from their mother and placed into foster care, where they were largely raised in separate households.

The three reunited in the early 1990s, but they had not seen Elizabeth in decades, if ever. 

The siblings’ journey in mid-August took them from Fargo to Ellendale, a two-hour drive, where they knew their sister was waiting. Elizabeth is currently a ward of the state of North Dakota and is in an assisted-living facility, they said.

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When they arrived, the emotional reunion began at the front door, where Elizabeth was waiting. Tears and hugs filled the air as the four siblings embraced. They are now trying to get her returned to Canada.

“Everybody has to find their family,” Lorraine said. “We can’t leave anybody behind.”

The family story

Cindy and Lorraine were taken away as toddlers from their home in Birch River, Manitoba. Cindy was 3 and Lorraine was just 2. They were placed in a foster home on a farm, but they were then moved around to other placements.

Both sisters say they were abused during their time in foster homes.  Cindy recalls that “social workers never checked up to see if we were safe.”

Reunited at last: Siblings, from left, Lorraine Sinclair, Gerald Munro, Cindy Munro and Elizabeth Kostecky gather in North Dakota after being reconciled decades after Kostecky was taken from the family during Canada’s Sixties Scoop. Credit: Coleen Rajotte for ICT

The two sisters found each other again when they attended the same high school in Swan River, Manitoba. By then, Cindy had run away and was living in a motel while attending high school. She cleaned rooms at night, and Canada’s social assistance program paid her accommodations.

They had no idea their mother had given birth to their younger brother, Gerald, and younger sister, Elizabeth.  The younger siblings were in Winnipeg, and they did not find out about them until they were adults. In all, they were among 11 children in the family, four of whom have died.

Their dad died in 1974. To this day, none of the children has ever found their mother.  

Elizabeth’s story

Elizabeth was adopted by an American family in Minnesota, and by all accounts, had loving adoptive parents. Her parents owned a fishing and hunting lodge where Elizabeth worked.

She described experiencing racism as a child in school. “They would be very mean to me,” she said. “They would powwow around me, make sounds, wear feathers — always trying to make fun of me.”

A childhood photo of Elizabeth Kostecky, who was taken from her family in Canada in 1971 during the Sixties Scoop. She was adopted by a White family in Minnesota and finally reunited with her siblings in August 2025 in North Dakota. Credit: Courtesy photo

Elizabeth said she hadn’t realized just how many Indigenous children were taken during the Sixties Scoop. “I only met one Native my whole life growing up,” she said. 

About four years ago, her adoptive parents died, just months apart, she told ICT. The lodge was sold and Elizabeth said she did not get any money from the sale.

Shortly afterward, she ended up in an  assisted living facility and became a ward of the state of North Dakota. Elizabeth told her siblings she was told she had memory problems.

Reuniting

Cindy and Lorraine were able to find Gerald in the 1990s. Gerald told them he had a little sister who was taken away while he was a toddler in Winnipeg.  That little sister was Elizabeth.  Cindy and Lorraine, who remain very close to this day, began the search.

They were able to track her to North Dakota after someone told them she’d been adopted by the family that owned the hunting lodge.  This led to phone calls and the eventual trip to North Dakota in early August.

Elizabeth told ICT she didn’t expect to end up in North Dakota without family nearby. She said she was placed in an assisted-living facility following an arrest related to a drinking incident years ago. 

Looking ahead

The siblings say they are determined to bring Elizabeth back to Canada. Upon their return to Canada, they were able to obtain Elizabeth’s Canadian birth certificate and are consulting a lawyer about removing the legal restraints that keep her in the U.S.

“I think our sister would be capable of looking after herself, maybe with a little help at first,” Lorraine said. 

The siblings visited in the lobby of the facility where Elizabeth lives, in a clean, institutional dining room that overlooks a string of old brick buildings in Ellendale.

There were lots of tears as they sat close to one another.  The siblings brought gifts for Elizabeth – craft supplies, a smudge bowl and traditional medicines. They ate lunch together at the local Subway.

They found a park where they could smudge together. But the one-day visit came to a close too soon, and the three dreaded leaving their sister alone.

The only contact they have had since they returned home is through Facebook.  Elizabeth messages them to say she loves them. 

The siblings say their story draws attention to the thousands of families separated during the Sixties Scoop, and that work is still needed to help survivors return home. 

As they said their goodbyes, the siblings promised this was not the end of their time together.

 “It’s not goodbye,” one said. “It’s ‘see you later.’” 

SOURCE:  https://ictnews.org/news/canadian-siblings-reunite-with-long-lost-sister-taken-in-the-sixties-scoop/