First Peoples Child & Family Review
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The Occasional Evil of Angels: Learning from the Experiences of Aboriginal Peoples and Social Work
No full textThis paper explores how the propensity of social workers to make a direct and unmitigated connection between good intentions, rationale thought and good outcomes forms a white noise barrier that substantially interferes with our ability to see negative outcomes resulting directly or indirectly from our works. The paper begins with outlining the harm experienced by Aboriginal children before moving to explore how two fundamental philosophies that pervade social service practice impact Aboriginal children: 1) an assumption of pious motivation and effect and 2) a desire to improve others. Finally, the paper explores why binding reconciliation and child welfare is a necessary first step toward developing social work services that better support Aboriginal children and families
“POEM: Their Eyes”
No full textElaine Alec is from the Okanagan and Shuswap Nations and lives in Penticton, British Columbia. She has been actively involved in youth rights and movements for most of her life. For more information visit http://www.myspace.com/elainalec
“Culturally Restorative Child Welfare Practice - A Special Emphasis on Cultural Attachment Theory”
No full textA research project was implemented through the use of qualitative secondary data analysis to describe a theory of culturally restorative child welfare practice with the application of cultural attachment theory. The research documented 20 years of service practice that promoted Anisinaabe cultural identity and cultural attachment strategies, by fostering the natural cultural resiliencies that exist within the Anishaabe nation. The research brings a suggested methodology to child welfare services for First Nation children the greater the application of cultural attachment strategies the greater the response to cultural restoration processes within a First Nation community
“Knowledge Translation in a Community-Based Study of the Relations Among Violence Exposure, Post- Traumatic Stress and Alcohol Misuse in Mi’kmaq Youth”
No full textIn 2004, our research group was invited to continue a research partnership with a Nova Scotian Mi’kmaq community that was concerned about the causes of and interventions for adolescent alcohol misuse in their community. While our previous collaborative research focused on reducing adolescent alcohol misuse by targeting motivations for drinking that were personality specific (see Mushquash, Comeau, & Stweart, 2007), the more recent collaboration sought to investigate the possible relationship between exposure to violence, post-traumatic stress, and alcohol misuse. The present paper outlines the steps involved in gaining community consent, the plan for results sharing, the tangible benefits to the community that have been documented, and future directions and lessons learned. The paper will demonstrate how the principles of Knowledge Translation (CIHR, 2006) provide a framework for this process
Mental Health Promotion as a Prevention and Healing Tool for Issues of Youth Suicide in Canadian Aboriginal Communities
No full textThis article discusses the appropriateness of using mental health promotion as a prevention and healing tool for Canadian Aboriginal youth dealing with issues of suicide. Strengths of mental health promotion in the context of this population include its emphasis on community-wide approaches, consideration of root causes of mental health issues, recognition of culture as a protective factor, and integration of diverse forms of knowledge. Limitations include an inadequate role for spirituality, lack of culturally-sensitive program evaluation, and emphasis on Western patterns of time, space, and communication. In response to this analysis, recommendations are proposed that could guide the development of future mental health promotion programs
“ Torres Strait Island Parents’ Involvement in their Children’s Mathematics Learning: A Discussion paper”
No full textThis paper is a beginning point for discussing what the literature states about parents’ involvement in their children’s mathematics education. Where possible it will focus on Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Little is known about how Torres Strait Islander parents approach their children’s learning of mathematics and how important early mathematics is to mothers. What is known is that is they are keen for their children to receive an education that provides them with opportunities for their present and future lives. However, gaining access to education is challenging given that the language of instruction in schools is written to English conventions, decontextualised and disconnected from the students’ culture, community and home language. This paper discusses some of the issues raised in the literature about what parents are confronted with when making decisions about their children’s education
“Aboriginal Youth Gangs: Preventative Approaches”
No full textThe purpose of this article is to describe programs and strategies dissuasive of Aboriginal youth gang involvement. Individual approaches target areas such as antisocial behavior, personal challenges, and negative thinking patterns. Family-orientated approaches reaffirm family values as a means to deter youth from gang association. Providing positive opportunities for youth to interact with community role models and to partake in community programs are also dissuasive to the proliferation of Aboriginal youth gangs. Although information herein is intended to tackle Aboriginal youth gang issues, it can also be useful in addressing peripheral social issues within communities, in general
THE FINAL WORD: After the Residential School Apology: Why All Canadians Should Care about a Racial Equality Case Before the Canadian Human Rights Commission
No full textN/
One Indigenous Academic’s Evolution: A Personal Narrative of Native Health Research and Competing Ways of Knowing
No full textIndigenous health research should reflect the needs and benefits of the participants and their community as well as academic and practitioner interests. The research relationship can be viewed as co-constructed by researchers, participants, and communities, but this nature often goes unrecognized because it is confined by the limits of Western epistemology. Dominant Western knowledge systems assume an objective reality or truth that does not support multiple or subjective realities, especially knowledge in which culture or context is important, such as in Indigenous ways of knowing. Alternatives and critiques of the current academic system of research could come from Native conceptualizations and philosophies, such as Indigenous ways of knowing and Indigenous protocols, which are increasingly becoming more prominent both Native and non-Native societies. This paper contains a narrative account by an Indigenous researcher of her personal experience of the significant events of her doctoral research, which examined the narratives of Native Canadian counselors’ understanding of traditional and contemporary mental health and healing. As a result of this narrative, it is understood that research with Indigenous communities requires a different paradigm than has been historically offered by academic researchers. Research methodologies employed in Native contexts must come from Indigenous values and philosophies for a number of important reasons and with consequences that impact both the practice of research itself and the general validity of research results. In conclusion, Indigenous ways of knowing can form a new basis for understanding contemporary health research with Indigenous peoples and contribute to the evolution of Indigenous academics and research methodologies in both Western academic and Native community context