Whenever I feel that humanity can’t get any worse after watching a show depicting a traumatic phase in human history, I’m provided with a harsher reality check in the form of another show. “Sixties Scoop” is how the snatching of indigenous kids from their parents between the 1960s and 1980s in Canada as a part of government policy is addressed. “Scoop” as we generally refer to a spoon full of ice cream. It is surreal how we can associate the most trivial words with something too horrifying to even imagine. What’s surprising is that the word “scoop,” though insensitive, also points at the horrendously ludicrous system that functioned at the time, which the show deals with. We cannot help but mock ourselves for what we are, but we won’t hide the fact that deep within, we are all monsters. This is Little Bird.
Spoilers Ahead
Foster Bird
The year is 1967. It’s the first day of hunting for 10-year-old Leo Little Bird. He is out with his father, Morris, and his friends, while his Mother, Patricia, is at home with his younger siblings, Dora, Niizh, and Bezhig, in that order. While Dora is with Patricia, who is doing household work, Niizh and Behzig are outside picking cedar for their sister. This is when a stone from Niizh’s slingshot hits the windscreen of a police car, and they are both put in the car by force. Another car arrives soon with two women from child protective services. The two cars arrive at the Little Bird household, but before the ladies and the cops enter the house, Patricia puts little Dora in a hiding spot under their floor. She knows what the people there are for. The two ladies, namely Jeannie, the senior and remorseless, and Adele, the junior and emotional, check the house, and Jeannie decides to take Niizh and Bezhig along, seeing unfavorable conditions for children so young. Patricia is helpless, but what triggers her is when the cops hear Dora’s cough from under the floor and bring her out. To us, it is clear why she put Dora there, but for the cops, it is no less than a crime to put a child in such a place. So they take her away as well. Patricia screams in agony as her kids are put in cars and taken from her. There’s no telling whether she will see them again. The kids are brought to the facility, but Adele is visibly shaken by how the kids and their mother were treated.
The year is 1985. The place is Montreal, Canada. Bezhig Little Bird, now Esther Rosenblum, is getting married to David, who has loved her all his life, and so does she. Esther’s mother, Golda, doesn’t like being surrounded by people (in this case, in-laws and their friends) who have no idea about art or politics. By the age of 12, Golda had lost her whole family, including her sister Esther, in the Holocaust. She named her daughter after her sister. Her father, who is now married to another woman, Cheryl, is a more carefree and fun-loving man who is very happy to see his daughter getting married to such a wealthy guy. But this isn’t the case with David’s mother, Lea, who, behind all her superficial happiness, is distressed. Esther overhears Lea badmouthing her, i.e., how she won’t be able to take care of her child the way she should because she never got to know what motherhood is. She was given up for adoption at a very young age. Lea didn’t expect that her son would end up marrying Esther. For her, it was supposed to be a fling. Esther walks up to her but doesn’t say anything. Her presence is enough to make Lea understand that she has heard every word she says. She leaves the venue with her mother. At home, Golda tries to make her understand that her life is with David and not his mother. But Esther isn’t in the mood for any explanation. We all know why. We have seen what happened to her and how she ended up here.
The Missing Bird
It is nighttime when Morris and Leo return home. Seeing a police car outside their house, Leo lays low inside the car while Morris heads out. He is shocked to see his wife in handcuffs and finds out that their kids have been taken. After using an ax to free his wife, the ax being a symbol of rage and revolt here, he heads out to speak to the two officers who have been there since morning. Maybe they were waiting for Morris’ return. He tries to get up close and personal, looking for answers with the cops but ends up getting badly beaten and taken to jail. It seems that the cops were just waiting to get their hands on him due to some godforsaken sadistic instinct that is still prevalent. Patricia is left with Leo. She visits the adoption center the next day and is told by Jeannie that she can only meet her children after the hearing, which will be in a few months. She first had her children literally stolen from her, and now she can’t even see them. So much for child protection. Her requests are futile. Even her husband is fighting for his life at the hospital. Back at the adoption center, Bezhig and Niizh learn that their sister Dora has been taken by her foster parents. While they have no idea what a foster home is, we realize that their chances of seeing their sister again are close to zero. Adele is still not able to cope with how the children are being treated and reconsiders her job. Her senior, Jeannie, gives her a word of advice about how she has to overcome her emotions if she wants to continue. That’s the only way she can survive the job.
To run away would be nice, but where? That’s why Esther decides to look for her family. Staying at a hotel, she takes her adoption papers and arrives at the adoption center, only to find that her adoption file is sealed for discretion. But there is a note attached to her file from her sister, Dora Mueller. It has her number in case anyone wants to contact her. Unfortunately, the phone number is dead, and she dials multiple Dora Muellers in the directory before getting the right one. She finds out that Dora Mueller ran away from home. There’s a certain apathy in the woman’s voice, which proves that she doesn’t care about her daughter’s whereabouts anymore. Esther arrives at the address the next day and meets Dora’s mother and brother. The mother isn’t willing to have a conversation, but the brother is. However, he isn’t allowed to speak because of his unusually strict mom. Esther gives them her number and has to leave. There’s something very suspicious going on here. Did Dora really run away? If yes, why? If not, then was she taken away again? Or did they send her away? The brother walks up to Esther’s car before she can leave and assures her of his call. The guy seems to also be interested in finding Dora. He was perhaps waiting for some way in which he could get going about it. That night, Esther finally calls her husband, David, who has been worried sick about her. She hasn’t spoken to anyone, including Golda, and no one knows where she is. She gives David her hotel address and assures him that she will return home soon. In the meantime, she has to find her family.
What Does Esther Find In Dora’s Belongings?
The next day, Esther meets Dora’s brother, who gives her Dora’s belongings, which include a photograph of her and her adoption papers. The guy also reveals that Dora didn’t run away but was kicked out by their mother, just as we had anticipated. She was a free spirit, and their mother was a control freak. Following a bad fight, she was forced to leave. Among Dora’s stuff, Esther finds her adoption papers along with the names and contacts of two child protection agents. One of them is Adele Halpern. She meets her, and we can tell that she remembers Esther, but she doesn’t reveal it. In fact, she doesn’t say anything. It seems that there is no end to dead ends for Esther. She has to leave empty-handed yet again. She remembers the hallway, the voices, and the faces, especially Adele’s when Esther was being handed over to her foster family. Little Bird Episode 2 ends with Esther following Adele to her home, where she lives with her two kids.
Morris is probably going to die. Patricia will have to fight for their kids all alone. And she has to hurry before her children are sent to foster families. We know that she will fail, but we have to wait to see if she gets to see her kids or not. Meanwhile, Esther has to figure out a way to persuade Adele to reveal any information about Dora. Will she be successful? Little Bird Episode 3 will answer our queries.
