First Peoples Child & Family Review
Not a member yet
312 research outputs found
Sort by
Exploring the Effectiveness of Métis Women’s Research Methodology and Methods: Promising Wellness Research Practices
No full textIn this article, we share our experience conducting research with Métis women as Métis women researchers. We engaged in promising research practices through visiting, ceremony, and creative methods of art and writing embedded in what we identify as a learning-by-doing practice. Through collaborative and Indigenous relational methodology, we sought to support a culturally safe, nurturing space where Métis women could learn from one another and express Métis knowledge about the specific roles and responsibilities of Métis Aunties within our respective kinship system. This inquiry into the roles of Métis Aunties included a creative art and writing dialogue event in the Métis river community of St. Louis in Saskatchewan, attended by women who were Métis Aunties or nieces. The purpose of the event was to learn more about our Métis Aunties, building on Dr. Kim Anderson’s (2016) extensive research on women’s roles in the governance, care, and wellness of our healthy/balanced kinship systems. We chose this specific region because of its historical significance to Métis people as a river place, and our own personal connections to Métis families in this area. We share our processes in learning with and from other Métis women in order to contribute to the growing literature on relational approaches to research.
Corresponding author: Janice Cindy Gaudet at [email protected]
Moving Towards a Language Nest: Stories and Insights from nḱmalqs.
No full textA language nest is an early language learning program for young children from infancy to five years of age. Language nests have the potential to reconnect young Indigenous children to their languages and cultures within the heart of their communities. The first author, a settler scholar and mother and grandmother of language nest children, shares some insights and experiences from her doctoral research with community members who have been involved in developing a language nest in nḱmaplqs, the Head of the Lake Okanagan Indian Band community in Vernon, British Columbia. The second author, an Okanagan Indian Band community member and Language and Culture Lead for her community, describes the language nest in the present day. We offer these stories and words of language nest development to encourage other Indigenous communities who are engaged in their own journeys of reclamation.
Corresponding author: Natalie Chambers at [email protected]
Early Child Education Training in Nunavut: Insights from the Inunnguiniq (“making of a human being”) Pilot Project
No full textIn the past two decades, evidence has shown that quality early childhood education (ECE) has lasting positive impacts, enhances wellbeing in many domains, and contributes to reducing economic and health inequalities. In Canada, complex colonial history has affected Indigenous peoples’ childrearing techniques, and there is a need to support community-owned programs and revitalize traditional values and practices. While several studies have described Indigenous approaches to childrearing, there is a lack of publications outlining the core content of preschool staff training and exploring Indigenous early childhood pedagogy. This article contributes to the literature by highlighting the features of a highly effective training model rooted in Inuit values that has been implemented in Nunavut. After describing how early childhood education is organized in Nunavut, we outline the challenges related to staff training and present the development and the pilot implementation of an evidence-based training program. We then discuss its successes and challenges and formulate suggestions for professionals and policymakers to enhance early childhood educators’ training in the territory
Human Trafficking in Northeastern Ontario: Collaborative Responses
No full textHuman trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation is undoubtedly occurring in Northeastern Ontario. However, there is a lack of information, resources, coordination, and collaboration on the issue in comparison to Southern Ontario. Furthermore, urban-based programming from “down south” does not necessarily fit the unique circumstances of Northeastern Ontario: specifically, the isolation and underservicing of rural and remote communities, the presence of francophone communities, and diverse Indigenous communities. The Northeastern Ontario Research Alliance on Human Trafficking is a community-university research partnership that takes a critical antihuman-trafficking approach. We combine Indigenous and feminist methodologies with participatory action research. In this paper, we first present findings from our eight participatory action research workshops with persons with lived experience and service providers in the region, where participants identified the needs of trafficked women and gaps and barriers to service provision. Second, in response to participants’ calls for collaboration, we have developed a Service Mapping Toolkit that is grounded in Indigenous cultural practices and teachings, where applicable, and in the agency and self-determination of persons experiencing violence, exploitation, or abuse in the sex trade. We conclude by recommending seven principles for building collaborative networks aimed at addressing violence in the sex trade. The Service Mapping Toolkit and collaborative principles may assist other rural or northern communities across the county.
Corresponding author: Rosemary Nagy at [email protected]
"It's a change your life kind of program": A healing focused camping weekend for urban Indigenous families living in Fredericton, New Brunswick
No full textWe present a community-driven research project designed to evaluate an innovative land-based healing initiative – a traditional camping weekend – for urban Indigenous families. The initiative was developed and implemented by Under One Sky Friendship Centre in Fredericton, NB, and involved a weekend-long celebration of culture and community. We gathered data from family members, staff, and stakeholders, and completed a thematic analysis and community review before synthesizing results into a narrative summary. Themes included Skitkəmikw (Land), Cəcahkw (Spirit), Skicinowihkw & Nekwtakotəmocik (Community & Family), and Sakələməlsowakən (Wellbeing). These connections are echoed throughout the article by quotes from participants that capture the essence of the experience. Our research helps to fill a knowledge gap in this area and supports the limited body of existing literature in demonstrating that community-led, land-based healing initiatives support Indigenous wellbeing in many ways that mainstream approaches cannot. Future work is needed to scale up landbased healing initiatives that provide community-led approaches to health promotion, and to examine the effects of ongoing participation on long-term health and wellness outcomes
Becoming Self-in-Relation: Coming of Age as a Pathway towards Wellness for Urban Indigenous Youth in Care
No full textTwo workshops were held with urban Indigenous youth who live in foster care on Lekwungen Territory on southern Vancouver Island. The workshops were informed by guidance from community knowledge holders and Elders and explored the meaning of Indigenous coming of age and adolescence with 15 youth through oral, visual, and text-based activities. Following a thematic analysis of the workshop transcripts, five themes emerged: self-continuity; self-awareness; empowerment; being part of something bigger; and support networks. These themes provide evidence that engaging with coming of age teachings and activities are protective to youth wellness and help youth to build strong foundations from which they can learn about their Indigenous ancestry and history in their own time. (Re)connecting to coming of age teachings is part of a broader discourse of (re)writing narratives that celebrate the strength, leadership, and independence of the urban Indigenous youth community. Although the voices shared reflect young community members living in and around southern Vancouver Island, the essence of our key messages are relevant to the broader Indigenous community and those practicing allyship through education, health care, social work, and other areas of influence
First Peoples Child & Family Review, Volume 15, Issue 1 (2020)
No full textIt is with great pleasure that we bring you Volume 15, Issue 1 of the First Peoples Child & Family Review. Although this issue was not guided by a particular theme, the articles are connected by a common narrative of rights and responsibilities. The articles remind us that we all have a right to participate in matters that affect us and a responsibility to uphold that right for everyone. This includes the right to participate in society and its institutions equitably and in a manner that is relevant to the individual and/or group.
Corresponding author: Brittany Mathews at [email protected]
Le comité Witcihitisotan (entraide) : un espace de soutien pour les familles autochtones en ville
No full textThis article presents the process and contributions of the Witcihitisotan committee (mutual help in Atikamekw), implemented by parents of teenagers in a Native Friendship Center in Quebec. To this day, adequate forms of support for Indigenous adolescent families remain under-documented, which represents a gap, considering the particular issues experienced by Aboriginal youth in urban areas. Analysis of the documents from 14 months of the committee's meetings showed three interdependent and complementary forms of support: the committee meetings allow parents to “express” themselves (to exchange and share advice); to “engage” with one another (to listen to each other to help on the path towards healing); and to “envision” their community living their culture in the city. Implementing an approach similar to that of storytelling, the committee offers an intergenerational place to appreciate, strengthen and heal, providing for the collective learning of families towards the (re)appropriation of parenting skills and community wellbeing. The opportunity to come together in an emotionally and culturally safe place is an integral part of the strength-based decolonizing approach. This case study demonstrates the importance of fostering peer support and having a collective space that is responsive to the needs of the group. This type of initiative helps in improving parent-youth relationships and better communication and self-awareness, which would be unattainable with the often predetermined and deficit-based approaches brought in by outside experts.Cet article présente le processus et les apports du comité Witcihitisotan (entraide, en atikamekw), mis en oeuvre par des parents d’adolescents dans un Centre d’amitié autochtone au Québec. À ce jour, les formes de soutien adéquates pour les familles d’adolescents autochtones demeurent sousdocumentées, ce qui représente une lacune, considérant les ruptures et transitions particulières vécues par les jeunes autochtones en milieu urbain. L’analyse de la documentation des 14 mois d’activité du comité fait émerger trois formes de soutien interdépendantes et complémentaires : le comité permet de « se dire », pour échanger et partager des conseils entre parents ; de « se raconter », où l’écoute permet de cheminer vers la guérison ; et de « se projeter », afin de s’exprimer sur la façon de vivre sa culture en ville. Mettant en oeuvre une approche semblable à celle du storytelling, le comité offre un lieu intergénérationnel de valorisation, de renforcement et d’autoguérison qui soutient l’apprentissage collectif des familles vers la réappropriation de compétences parentales et un mieux-être de la communauté. L’occasion de se rassembler dans un lieu émotionnellement et culturellement sécuritaire fait partie intégrante de l’approche décolonisante axée sur les forces. Cette étude de cas démontre l’importance de stimuler l’entraide entre pairs et de se moduler aux besoins du groupe. Ce type d’initiative permet de cheminer vers une amélioration des relations parent-jeune et une meilleure communication et connaissance de soi, qui seraient irréalisables par l’intermédiaire des approches apportées par des experts extérieurs, qui sont souvent préformatées et centrées sur les lacunes
Cree Relationship Mapping: nêhiyaw kesi wâhkotohk – How We Are Related
No full textnêhiyaw kesi wâhkotohk (how we are related) is a relationship mapping resource based in the nêhiyaw (Cree) language and worldview. The relationship map was developed incrementally through a five-year process of connecting nêhiyaw worldviews of child and family development with the wisdom and teachings from nêhiyaw knowledge-holders. Over time, in ceremony and with many consultations with wisdom-keepers, the authors began connecting the nêhiyaw teachings into a resource that would allow (mostly non-Indigenous) human service providers working with nêhiyaw children, families, and communities a means to understand and honour the relational worldview and teachings of the nêhiyaw people. This kinship map came to include nêhiyaw kinship terms and teachings on wâhkomitowin (all relations) in order to recognize all the sacred roles and responsibilities of family and community. In addition, the vital role of isîhcikewin (ceremony) and the Turtle Lodge Teachings (nêhiyaw stages of individual, family, and community development) became embedded within this resource, along with the foundational teachings that create balance and wellbeing that enable one to live miyo pimâtisiwin (the good life).
Corresponding author: Ralph Bodor at [email protected]
Familial Attendance at Indian Residential School and Subsequent Involvement in the Child Welfare System Among Indigenous Adults Born During the Sixties Scoop Era
No full textThe health and wellness of Indigenous peoples continue to be impacted by the harmful colonization practices enforced by the Government of Canada. While the long-term health impacts of the Indian Residential School (IRS) system are documented, empirical evidence elucidating the relationship between the IRSs and the risk of offspring experiencing other collective childhood traumas, such as the Sixties Scoop (1950-1990) and the inequities within the child welfare system (CWS), is needed. Through an online study, we explored the links between familial (parents/grandparents) IRS attendance and subsequent involvement in the CWS in a non-representative sample of Indigenous adults in Canada born during the Sixties Scoop era. The final sample comprised 433 adults who self-identified as Status First Nation (52.2%), non-Status First Nation (23.6%), and Métis (24.2%). The study found that adults with a parent who attended IRS were more likely to have spent time in foster care or in a group home during the Sixties Scoop era. They were also more likely to have grown up in a household in which someone used alcohol or other drugs, had a mental illness or a previous suicide attempt, had spent time in prison, had lower mean levels of general household stability, and tended to have lower household economic stability. Moreover, the relationship between parental IRS attendance and foster care was explained, in part (i.e., mediated) by a higher childhood household adversity score. These findings highlight that the intergenerational cycles of household risk introduced by the IRS system contribute to the cycles of childhood adversity and increased risk of spending time within the CWS in Canada. This is the first study among Indigenous adults from across Canada to demonstrate quantitatively that being affected by the CWS during the Sixties Scoop era is linked to intergenerational cycles of risk associated with the IRS system.
Corresponding author: Robyn McQuaid at [email protected]