scholarly journals Where do we go from here? Ongoing colonialism from Attachment Theory

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-44
Author(s):  
Peter W. Choate ◽  
Brandy CrazyBull ◽  
Desi Lindstrom ◽  
Gabrielle Lindstrom
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Indigenous Children ◽  
Child Intervention ◽  
Project Data ◽  
Indigenous Methods ◽  
Children In Care ◽  
Dyadic Attachment

INTRODUCTION: The article challenges the current interpretation of Attachment Theory (AT) which favours placement of Indigenous children in non-Indigenous homes. Historical attempts to assimilate Indigenous populations are examined in relation to ongoing assimilation within child intervention and justice systems. The goal is to stimulate discussion about possible culturally appropriate models to articulate the complex and multiple attachments formed by an Indigenous person who is brought up in an Indigenous community, compared to the popular Western and Eurocentric view of parenting through dyadic attachment derived from AT.METHODS: A review of AT literature examining key questions of cross-cultural applicability validity in relation to Indigenous populations. Consultations were held with Elders from the Blackfoot Confederacy of Alberta as part of the Nistawatsiman project. Data were gathered in a project relating to AT and the Supreme Court of Canada.FINDINGS: Cultural Attachment Theory is emerging as a preferred way to think of Indigenous contexts as opposed to applying traditional AT. The validity of AT with Indigenous families is likely not valid and perpetuates colonial and assimilative understandings of family, parenting and the place of culture.CONCLUSIONS: Pan-Indigenous methods bias child intervention, blinding them to the capacity of Indigenous caring systems’ capacity to raise their children. The use of AT sustains over- representation of Indigenous children in care and continues the colonial practices of fracturing Indigenous caregiving systems which, in turn, creates the patterns for the next generation’s over-representation in care. Indigenous ways of knowing and being are required along with Indigenous-based decision making.

Indigenous children in care: On bringing them home

1999 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 6-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mick Dodson
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Legal Services ◽  
Great Pleasure ◽  
Indigenous Children ◽  
Children In Care

My first duty is to acknowledge and pay my respects to the traditional owners of this part of the country, the Kulin Nation; it’s a privilege and a great pleasure to make this presentation on your ancestral lands.In the Submission to the National Inquiry of the Aboriginal Legal Services, Western Australia, they said that the, and I quote:

Indigenous Children and Young People in Residential Care: A Systematic Scoping Review

2019 ◽  
pp. 152483801988170
Author(s):  
Kathomi Gatwiri ◽  
Lynne McPherson ◽  
Natalie Parmenter ◽  
Nadine Cameron ◽  
Darlene Rotumah
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Residential Care Facilities ◽  
Indigenous Children ◽  
Trauma Informed ◽  
Colonial Histories ◽  
Children In Care

In Australia and internationally, Indigenous children are seriously overrepresented in the child welfare system. This article provides an overview of literature investigating the needs of Indigenous children in residential care facilities. The provision of culturally safe and trauma-informed therapeutic care to Indigenous children and young people in residential care recognizes that the trauma and violence that they have experienced is exacerbated by their Indigeneity due to the colonial histories presenting. Utilizing a systematic scoping review methodology, the study returned a total of 637 peer-reviewed articles that were identified and reviewed for inclusion. The process of exclusion resulted in the inclusion of eight peer-reviewed studies and 51 reports and discussion papers sourced from gray literature. Findings from this study, though dearth, indicate that trauma-informed and culturally safe interventions play a significant role in Indigenous children’s health and well-being while in care. Their experiences of abuse and neglect transcend individual trauma and include intergenerational pain and suffering resulting from long-lasting impacts of colonization, displacement from culture and country, genocidal policies, racism, and the overall systemic disadvantage. As such, a therapeutic response, embedded within Indigenous cultural frameworks and knowledges of trauma, is not only important but absolutely necessary and aims to acknowledge the intersectionality between the needs of Indigenous children in care and the complex systemic disadvantage impacting them.

scholarly journals Tuberculosis in indigenous children in the Brazilian Amazon

2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Gava ◽  
Jocieli Malacarne ◽  
Diana Patrícia Giraldo Rios ◽  
Clemax Couto Sant'Anna ◽  
Luiz Antônio Bastos Camacho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Population ◽  
Hypothesis Test ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Clinical Form ◽  
Case Detection Rate ◽  
Indigenous Group ◽  
Indigenous Children ◽  
Childhood Tb ◽  
Chest X Ray

OBJECTIVE: Assess the epidemiological aspects of tuberculosis in Brazilian indigenous children and actions to control it. METHODS: An epidemiological study was performed with 356 children from 0 to 14 years of age in Rondônia State, Amazon, Brazil, during the period 1997-2006. Cases of TB reported to the Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System were divided into indigenous and non-indigenous categories and analyzed according to sex, age group, place of residence, clinical form, diagnostic tests and treatment outcome. A descriptive analysis of cases and hypothesis test (χ²) was carried out to verify if there were differences in the proportions of illness between the groups investigated. RESULTS: A total of 356 TB cases were identified (125 indigenous, 231 non-indigenous) of which 51.4% of the cases were in males. In the indigenous group, 60.8% of the cases presented in children aged 0-4 years old. The incidence mean was much higher among indigenous; in 2001, 1,047.9 cases/100,000 inhabitants were reported in children aged < 5 years. Pulmonary TB was reported in more than 80% of the cases, and in both groups over 70% of the cases were cured. Cultures and histopathological exams were performed on only 10% of the patients. There were 3 cases of TB/HIV co-infection in the non-indigenous group and none in the indigenous group. The case detection rate was classified as insufficient or fair in more than 80% of the indigenous population notifications, revealing that most of the diagnoses were performed based on chest x-ray. CONCLUSIONS: The approach used in this study proved useful in demonstrating inequalities in health between indigenous and non-indigenous populations and was superior to the conventional analyses performed by the surveillance services, drawing attention to the need to improve childhood TB diagnosis among the indigenous population.

scholarly journals Missing in Action: Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Evaluation of Comprehensive Community Initiatives

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Gillespie ◽  
Jason Albert ◽  
Shelanie Grant ◽  
Tanya MacKeigan
Keyword(s):  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Community Initiatives ◽  
Comprehensive Community Initiatives ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽  
Indigenous Children ◽  
Missing In Action

Comprehensive community initiatives (CCIs) coordinate social and structural change across multiple community sectors and represent promising approaches to complex social problems. Nowhere is this more relevant than for Indigenous children and families. However, strategies to evaluate initiatives to enhance Indigenous well-being must be meaningful to Indigenous communities. A review of literature regarding evaluation of CCIs identified various principles, case studies, methodologies, and methods grounded in Western ways of knowing and approaches to research. Research that engages with Indigenous led comprehensive community initiatives is needed to enhance evaluation practices for CCIs that enables resurgence of Indigenous traditions and worldviews. 

scholarly journals Diet quality among Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and youth in Canada in 2004 and 2015: a repeated cross-sectional design

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Natalie D. Riediger ◽  
Jeff LaPlante ◽  
Adriana Mudryj ◽  
Luc Clair
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Diet Quality ◽  
Interaction Effect ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Children And Youth ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Indigenous Children ◽  
Cross Sectional Design

Abstract Objective: The objectives were to describe changes in diet quality between off-reserve Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and youth from 2004 to 2015, and examine the association between food security and diet quality. Design: We utilized a repeated cross-sectional design using both the 2004 and 2015 nutrition-focused Canadian Community Health Surveys, including 24-hour dietary recall. Diet quality was estimated according to the Health Eating Index (HEI). Setting: The surveys were conducted off-reserve in Canada’s 10 provinces. Participants: Our analysis included children and youth 2-17 years old (n=18,189). Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants were matched and using a General Linear Model, we tested time period and (non-)Indigenous identifiers, including their interaction effect, as predictors of HEI. Results: Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and youth had significantly higher HEI scores in 2015 as compared to 2004. There was not a significant (non-)Indigenous and time period interaction effect, indicating the improvements in diet quality in 2015 were similar between both Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. Improvements in diet quality are largely attributed to reductions in percent energy from “other” foods, though a disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and youth persisted in 2015. Overall, food security was lower among the Indigenous population and positively, and independently, associated with diet quality overall, though this relationship differed between boys and girls. Conclusions: School policies may have contributed to similar improvements in diet quality among Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. However, an in-depth sex and gender-based analysis of the relationship between food security and diet quality is required.

scholarly journals Flying blind: trying to find solutions to Indigenous oral health

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea M. de Silva ◽  
Jacqueline Martin-Kerry ◽  
Alexandra Geale ◽  
Deborah Cole
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Health Data ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Oral Disease ◽  
Caries Experience ◽  
Published Evidence ◽  
Health Differences ◽  
Indigenous Children

Objective The aim of the present study was to identify all published evidence about oral health in Indigenous children in Australia and to determine trends in Indigenous oral health over time. Methods PubMed was used to search for published peer-reviewed articles that reported caries (decay) prevalence rates and/or caries experience (based on caries indices) in Indigenous children. Studies included in the analysis needed to report clinical oral health data (not self-reported dental experiences), and articles were excluded if they reported caries in only a select, specific or targeted sample (e.g. only children undergoing hospital admissions for dental conditions). Results The review identified 32 studies that met the inclusion criteria. These studies reported data from the Northern Territory (n = 14), Western Australia (n = 7), South Australia (n = 7), Queensland (n = 7), New South Wales (n = 1), Australian Capital Territory (n = 1) and Tasmania (n = 1). Of the studies, 47% were in rural locations, 9% were in urban locations and 44% were in both rural and urban locations. Data are limited and predominantly for Indigenous children living in rural locations, and there are no published studies on caries in Indigenous children living in Victoria. Conclusions The present study documents the published prevalence and severity of caries in Indigenous children living in Australia and highlights that limited oral health data are available for this priority population. Although risk factors for oral disease are well known, most of the studies did not analyse the link between these factors and oral disease present. There is also inconsistency in how caries is reported in terms of age and caries criteria used. We cannot rely on the available data to inform the development of policies and programs to address the oral health differences in Indigenous populations living contemporary lives in metropolitan areas. What is known about the topic? Many studies report that Indigenous people have poorer general health in Australia compared with non-Indigenous people. What does this paper add? This paper documents the available published prevalence and experience of caries for Indigenous children in Australia. It demonstrates significant limitations in the data, including no Victorian data, inconsistency with reporting methods and most data being for Indigenous children who are living in rural locations. What are the implications for practitioners? It is important for practitioners to have access to oral health data for Indigenous children in Australia. However, the present study highlights significant knowledge gaps for this population group and identifies ways to collect data in future studies to enable more meaningful comparisons and policy development.

scholarly journals Finding Fitting Solutions to Assessment of Indigenous Young Children’s Learning and Development: Do It in a Good Way

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Ball
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Early Childhood Programs ◽  
Children’S Learning ◽  
Indigenous Children ◽  
Children's Development ◽  
Children’S Development ◽  
Children's Learning

Standardized, norm-referenced assessments of young children’s learning and development pose a number of challenges when used with Indigenous children, beginning with the very notion of the construct “early childhood” that runs counter to some Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Indigenous community leaders and knowledge keepers reject the idea that all children should develop according to a homogenizing universal standard that is not grounded in specific culturally based goals and practices surrounding children’s development and does not respect each child’s unique character. Three key problems arise with creating appropriate assessment of Indigenous young children’s learning and development: 1) assessment in early childhood programs is often done from the perspective of whether children are on track to be ready for school; 2) school systems, early childhood programs, and practitioners face a barrage of pressure to measure children’s “progress” against universalist norms derived from Euro-Western ways of knowing and goals for children’s development; and 3) knowledge of diverse Indigenous young children’s varied lived experiences in today’s urban and rural communities is extremely limited. This paper discusses these obstacles and draws from the author’s many years of collaborating with Indigenous children, families, and communities to co-create culturally relevant assessment in a good way.

scholarly journals Indigenous Children’s ‘Best Interests’ at the Crossroads

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyllie Cripps
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Out Of Home Care ◽  
The Family ◽  
Indigenous Children ◽  
Protection Systems ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
The Many ◽  
Children In Care

This article reviews the use of the term ‘best interests’ as it is commonly used in Australian child protection systems and its application in Indigenous contexts. In 2010–11 there were some 12,358 Indigenous children in out-of-home care in Australia, representing 32.85% of the total number of Australian children in care. In this review, I carefully consider, in the context of a rights discourse, the many influences, historical and present day, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, that have contributed to this situation. While the ‘family’ has traditionally been considered a private sphere in which the state rarely intervenes, I seek to investigate why the nation state has increased surveillance of and intervention into Indigenous families. The article concludes with a reflection on how the nation state, and its agents via child protection authorities, can take stock of the present situation to consider more meaningful ways of supporting Indigenous mothers, families and communities to raise their children in safety

scholarly journals COMPLETING THE CIRCLE: TOWARDS THE ACHIEVEMENT OF IND-EQUITY- A CULTURALLY RELEVANT HEALTH EQUITY MODEL BY/FOR INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-110
Author(s):  
Bernice Downey
Keyword(s):  
Health Equity ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Health ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Structural Reform ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Equity Model

Health equity is defined in ways that espouse values of social justice and benevolence and is held up as an ideal state achievable by all. However, there remains a troubling gap in health outcomes between Indigenous Peoples and other Canadians. Public health stakeholders aspire to ‘close the gap’ and ‘level the gradient’ to reduce inequities though the implementation of various health equity focused strategies. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada echoes this objective and calls for self-determining structural reform to address health inequity for Indigenous Peoples. This paper proposes an IND-equity model as a reconciliation inspired response that upholds Indigenous self-determination and is informed by diverse Indigenous ways of knowing.  When adopting this model, the goal is to complete the circle and foster wholistic balance. Further development and implementation of an IND-equity model requires advocacy by all health practitioners. Nurses hold potential to lead and engage in structural reform through an Indigenous health ally role.

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