The Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth (USAY) created an online escape room called “Della’s Story,” a virtual game based on the experiences of Sixties Scoop survivor Della, and thousands of people have already participated.

Della's high school photo. Photo courtesy USAY.

The goal of the escape room is to go through the three locations — a residential school classroom, a barn and an office — to gather documents to help piece together the memories and take the steps towards healing (the hidden room).

Image of Memory Map of a Residential School Classroom, a barn, and an office. Photo courtesy of USAY.

The players will be guided over Zoom by Jared Nelson, Della's grandson, who gives players clues throughout the escape room and helps them learn about the Sixties Scoop.

Jared Nelson, Della's Grandson in a zoom call in the classroom level for Della's story (Courtesy USAY)

LeeAnn Ireland, executive director of the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth, shares with CFWE what people can experience when they sign up for the virtual experience.

Della is from the Neskonlith First Nation in British Columbia. In 1964, she was taken away from her family and was placed into a foster family out on a farm, years later at the age of 18 she would leave to return back to her hometown.

Della would soon discover that many of her family members were deceased or could not be located. She later started a family of her own and has five children.

Ireland says the inspiration behind the creation of the game came from Della going through a Sixties Scoop class action lawsuit with the Canadian government along with her receiving documents from the settlement.

After examining the lawsuit documents, Ireland says that the process was confusing. That feeling gave them the idea of using the documents in a virtual escape room so that the players can experience the difficulties that a Sixties Scoop survivor goes through.

Della current day (Courtesy USAY)

Della’s Story was launched in spring of 2020, and Ireland says that  she expected only 150 people to play the escape room initially. Now, with the response being positive, over 4,000 people have signed up and experienced Della’s Story.

For more information on the escape room, visit the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth website here.

Do you have a story idea? Email me at daniel@windspeakermedia.com

Listen to the audio below: