Sixties Scoop survivor held in U.S. jail after attempted return to adoptive family

James Mast, a Cree Sixties Scoop survivor, says helium was making his mode to Oklahoma truthful helium could attraction for his ailing adoptive begetter erstwhile tribal constabulary connected the U.S. broadside of the Akwesasne preservation arrested him and turned him implicit to U.S. Border Patrol.

Mast, 60, has been held astatine the Clinton County jailhouse successful Plattsburgh, N.Y., which sits astir 115 km southeast of Akwesasne, since his April 14 apprehension by St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police. He was detained aft crossing the St. Lawrence River by boat and had nary recognition connected him astatine the time.  

Mast has truthful acold spent six weeks in custody portion U.S. migration authorities find whether to deport him to Canada.

"I privation to get backmost location and I'm bushed of this unit that migration and radical enactment connected saying that I americium not American," said Mast, successful a telephone interrogation with CBC News from jail. 

"I was raised successful the States." 

Mast was initially charged with unlawful "re-entry by a deported alien," but the complaint was dropped by the adjunct U.S. lawyer due to the fact that Mast is Cree, said Gabrielle DiBella, his appointed national nationalist defender.

"Being a Native American meant that helium could not beryllium prosecuted for illegally re-entering the country," said DiBella in an interrogation with CBC News. 

Under the 1794 Jay Treaty betwixt the United States and Great Britain, a idiosyncratic with astatine slightest 50 per cent First Nations parentage whitethorn transverse freely from Canada into the U.S. A First Nations idiosyncratic calved successful Canada tin besides legally unrecorded arsenic a imperishable nonmigratory with a greenish paper successful the U.S. if they registry with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. 

"I've ne'er had a Native American prosecuted for amerciable re-entry," said DiBella. 

DiBella said they've requested Mast's adoption records from the authorities of Alberta which helium was told could instrumentality 4 to six months to process and provide. 

CBC News contacted U.S. Customs and Border Protection who referred questions to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for comment. ICE did not respond to petition for comment. 

Taken from household twice

The Sixties Scoop was a play from the 1950s to the 1980s erstwhile thousands of Indigenous children were seized by provincial child-welfare agencies and adopted retired to non-Indigenous families.

Mast was calved James Cardinal successful 1964 to Mary, who was Cree, and Edward Cardinal, a Métis. They were trappers surviving astir Fort McMurray, Alta.   

"My begetter was an alcoholic, truthful he'd instrumentality the pelts successful and past permission my ma and america kids retired connected the trap line," said Mast, who has 3 biologic siblings. 

Mast said erstwhile helium was two-years old his parent fell sick and moved successful with her sister, who called kid payment services. 

"Welfare came and picked america up and took america away," helium said. 

He was bounced betwixt foster homes and abused until Moses and Sadie Mast, a Mennonite couple, adopted him and took him to Spencer, Okla., erstwhile helium was six years old, said James Mast. 

He said helium reconnected with his biologic parent erstwhile helium was 16 aft hitchhiking from Oklahoma City to Anzac, Alta. But helium went backmost to Oklahoma, to his adoptive parents, who helium considers his existent family. 

"That's the lone household I have," said Mast. 

While gathering hog farms successful the mid-1990s successful Missouri, Mast ran into occupation with the law, according to authorities tribunal records. Mast said helium was convicted of assaulting a constabulary serviceman and served 17 years successful prison. After his merchandise and soon aft arriving backmost location to Oklahoma, U.S. migration authorities swooped successful to apprehension him. 

He said helium inactive remembers seeing his adoptive parent Sadie Mast weeping arsenic they took him away. 

"I told her, don't worry, I'll beryllium each right, I'll travel backmost again 1 day," said Mast. "She passed distant earlier I made it. It's conscionable been an ongoing frustration. It made maine angry."

Mast was sent to migration detention successful Dallas and deported to Calgary successful 2010, according to U.S. tribunal records. His adoptive parents ne'er made him a U.S. national and Mast said helium didn't cognize however to combat the deportation. He said helium stayed for astir a time astatine the Calgary airdrome earlier heading to a metropolis stateless shelter, the opening of an itinerant beingness successful Canada.

He was successful and retired of jails and shelters, portion compiling convictions for things similar equipped robbery, thefts and assaults.

Mast said helium ended up drifting to Hamilton and past to Cornwall, Ont., astir six years agone wherever helium recovered enactment arsenic a mechanic.  

During his clip successful Cornwall, Mast said helium met radical from Akwesasne, the Haudenesaunee territory that sits crossed the St. Lawrence River from the tiny city. Mast said helium crossed the stream by vessel connected April 13, jumped retired connected the confederate enactment and hid retired successful a wooded country overnight. 

Family waits for him

The adjacent day, Mast said helium was walking done the community, trying to fig retired however to proceed his travel to Oklahoma erstwhile helium was stopped by tribal constabulary who aboriginal reported to U.S. Border Patrol that helium was intoxicated. 

"They lied, and that's what ever gets maine successful trouble, that's wherefore I get huffy astatine the police, due to the fact that they lie," said Mast. 

"How tin they accidental I was intoxicated? They didn't instrumentality nary breathalyzer…. As a substance of fact, I don't drink."

He said they arrested him aft helium slammed his manus connected the trunk of the constabulary cruiser.

"I said, 'There, present you tin apprehension me,'" said Mast during the telephone interrogation with CBC News. 

Mast said helium conscionable wants to get location and instrumentality attraction of his adoptive father. It inactive pains him that helium wasn't determination erstwhile his adoptive parent died.

"I fig it's clip to get backmost location and instrumentality attraction of him, similar helium took attraction of maine erstwhile I was younger," helium said. 

"He needs maine there."

Mast's begetter is successful his precocious 80s, suffers from dementia and is presently successful an assisted surviving attraction home, said Bonnie Bellah, James Mast's cousin.    

Bellah has taken implicit the superior caregiving relation for Moses Mast. She said the household is alert that James Mast is successful custody and would invited his return. 

"We would each clasp him," said Bellah, successful a telephone interrogation from Spencer, Okla. 

"We emotion him and we privation the champion for him. It's a hard situation, helium is adopted, but helium is household and household is precise important."