First Peoples Child & Family Review
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Finding their way home: The reunification of First Nations adoptees
No full textEntire generations of First Nations people have been separated from their birth families and tribes by historical acts of relocation, boarding schools, and the adoption era. Reunification is an essential component to rebuilding the First Nations population. It is echoed across tribes captured by the phrase, “generation after generation we are coming home” (White Hawk, 2014). The purpose of this study was to investigate personal and social identity indicators that contribute to a satisfactory reunification for 95 First Nations adult adoptees who were separated from their birth families during childhood by foster-care and/or adoption. Retrospective survey data originated from the Experiences of Adopted and Fostered Individuals Project. The overall model of satisfactory reunification was statistically significant, and explained 16.6% of the total variance. The study’s findings revealed two social identity variables were statistically significant in relation to the reunification experience – high social connection to tribe (positive relationship) and reunification with the birthmother (negative relationship). First Nations adoptees have not only a biological/birth family to return to, but also a tribe, and ancestral land. Components of social identity are particularly important for the reunification process of First Nations adoptees. Reconnection with extended family and social connection to tribe play a critical role in bettering the reunification experience from the adoptee’s perspective.
Counselling within Inuit systems in Canada's North
No full textThis article builds upon limited resources available to support counsellors working with the Inuit population in Nunavut, Canada. The author discusses the history of Inuit culture with a focus on the intergenerational trauma that stemmed from colonialism, forced assimilation, and the Canadian government’s sovereignty efforts. This article addresses the loss of cultural identity that resulted among Inuit people due to these events. An analysis of current statistics and drawing on literature that discusses differences between Northern and Southern Canada reveals the stark prevalence of psychosocial issues such as drug and alcohol abuse and family violence. The modernization of society has contributed to the gap between traditional and modern Inuit culture. This population is in a state of cultural transition and therefore requires culturally sensitive and knowledgeable counsellors. It is the position of the author that by using a family systems therapy approach, the interventions would more closely align with Inuit values and therefore be the best choice when counselling Inuit clients
Creating Places of Belonging: Expanding Notions of Permanency with Indigenous Youth in Care
No full textThis paper calls for creative pathways of engagement that delineate places of belonging for and with Indigenous youth in care. It draws on two community-based research studies conducted in British Columbia, with urban and off-reserve Indigenous youth to contextualize and extend understanding of permanency for Indigenous youth in care. Our discussion explores permanency in relation to both Western understandings of government care, guardianship, and adoptions, and Indigenous customary caregiving and cultural planning for cultural permanency, such as naming and coming home ceremonies, custom adoptions, and kinship care
A Discussion Paper on Indigenous Custom Adoption Part 1: Severed Connections - Historical Overview of Indigenous Adoption in Canada
No full textThis paper forms Part 1 of a two-part discussion paper on Indigenous custom adoption. Zeroing in on the entangled histories of adoption and colonization, it outlines a short history of adoption in Canada, examines the impact of forced, closed, and external adoptions on Indigenous adoptees, and traces the move toward more open statutory adoptions and greater cultural connection and continuity in adoptions. This historical review sets the stage for Part 2 of our discussion paper, “Honouring Our Caretaking Traditions,” where we highlight the connections between customary laws regarding caregiving and the resurgence of Indigenous authority over child welfare within a context of Indigenous self-determination and self-governance.
Foreword
No full textForeward to Volume 9(1), special issue in collaboration with the Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research on Aboriginal child and youth mental, spiritual and cultural health
Intergenerational Trauma and Aboriginal Women: Implications for Mental Health during Pregnancy
No full textntergenerational trauma (IGT) explains why populations subjected to long-term, mass trauma show a higher prevalence of disease even several generations after the original events. Residential schools and other legacies of colonization continue to impact Aboriginal populations, who have higher rates of mental health concerns. Poor maternal mental health during pregnancy can have serious health consequences for the mother, the baby, and the whole family; these include impacting the cognitive, emotional and behavioural development of children and youth. This paper has the following objectives: 1) To define intergenerational trauma and contextualize it in understanding the mental health of pregnant and parenting Aboriginal women; 2) To summarize individual-level and population-level approaches to promoting mental health, and examine their congruence with the needs of Aboriginal populations; 3) To discuss the importance of targeting IGT in both individual-level and population-level interventions for pregnant Aboriginal women. Various scholars have suggested that healing from IGT is best achieved through a combination of mainstream psychotherapies and culturally-entrenched healing practices, conducted in culturally safe settings. Pregnancy has been argued to be a particularly meaningful intervention point to break the cycle of IGT transmission. Given the importance of pregnant women’s mental health to both maternal and child health outcomes, including mental health trajectories for children and youth, it is clear that interventions, programs and services for pregnant Aboriginal women need to be designed to explicitly facilitate healing from IGT. In this regard, further empirical research on IGT and on healing are warranted, to permit an evidence-based approach
