Bearing Witness: Creating the Conditions of Justice for First Nations Children

In 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found that Canada’s management of child welfare discriminates against First Nations children. The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, one of the complainants, maintains a web-based campaign called “I Am A Witness,” providing details on the hearings and legal materials and asking visitors to act towards ending discrimination against First Nations children. What does it mean to bear witness to such discrimination? The concept of “witnessing” circulates through Indigenous oral traditions, communication and media theories, and the common law. This article explores the I Am A Witness campaign, arguing that as it evokes various theories of witnessing and builds public awareness of legal processes, it shifts spaces of and perspectives on legality beyond Western categories, creating a public that is enabled to bear witness to, and respond to, ongoing injustices against Indigenous peoples.

Meenoostahtan Minisiwin: First Nations Family Justice "Pathways to Peace"

Community justice initiatives are now common in Canada, both for young offenders and in adult criminal cases; there are only a few examples of alternative methods for dealing with justice issues in the area of mandated child welfare services. The initiative outlined in this paper represents one of the most comprehensive family justice initiatives in First Nations Child and Family Services in Canada. Meenoostahtan Minisiwin: First Nations Family Justice offers a new way of addressing conflict in child and family matters, outside of the regular Child and Family Services (CFS) and court systems. It incorporates the traditional peacemaking role that has existed for centuries in Northern Manitoba Cree communities, alongside contemporary family mediation. The program brings together family, extended family, community members, Elders, social workers and community service providers in the resolution of child protection concerns through the use of properly trained Okweskimowewak (family mediators). The Okweskimowewak’s role involves assisting participants to articulate their personal ‘truth’ (dabwe) and to hear and respect the dabwe of others; to create a safe and nurturing context by addressing inherent power imbalances; to explore the root causes of family conflict in order to address the long term best interests of children; and to facilitate innovative and collaborative planning outcomes for families. The program was developed by the Awasis Agency of Northern Manitoba, a mandated First Nations Child and Family Services agency, although it receives its services mandate from the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) Exectuive. It is jointly funded by the Aboriginal Justice Strategy of Justice Canada and the Manitoba Department of Family Services and Housing. Overall direction for the program is provided by the First Nations Family Justice Committee, a sub-committee of the MKO Exectuive Director of Awasis Agency, and representative chiefs of the MKO region. The program currently employs a Program Coordinator, two full time regional Okweskimowewak, two full time community-based Okweskimowewak and an administrative assistant. Since its inception in 1999, the program has received referrals involving more than seven hundred families, including well over 1900 children and 1500 volunteer participants. Services have been provided in seventeen First Nation communities in Northern Manitoba as well as in Thompson, Winnipeg, The Pas, and Gillam. The Meenoostahtan Minisiwin program responds to all aspects of mandated child welfare, as well as other situations where the best interests of children are in jeopardy. These have included mediating care placement arrangements; child-parent conflicts; family-agency or family-agency-system conflicts; assisting in the development of service plans in neglect and abuse cases; advocating on behalf of families attempting to access services; family violence; larger community-wide conflicts; and working to address systemic problems which impact the lives of First Nations children and families. We believe that by establishing processes which focus on restoring balance and harmony within families and communities, we are working towards an overall increase in the health and wellness of community members. And you who would understand justice, How shall you, unless you Look upon all deeds In the fullness of light? Only then shall you know that the erect And the fallen are but one man standing in The twilight between the Night of his pigmy-self And the day of his god-self. K. Gibran

Same Country; Same Lands; 78 Countries Away

As the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (2003) noted, Aboriginal children face more discrimination and increased risk factors than other Canadian children. Their lived experiences are shaped by the policies of assimilation and colonization that aimed to eliminate Aboriginal cultures through repression of fundamental freedoms, denial of ownership and the operation of residential schools (RCAP, 1996; Milloy, 1999). First Nations child and family service agencies have expressed concern about the lack of resources available to support families in redressing the significant impacts of colonization. The voluntary sector provides a myriad of important social supports to Canadians off reserve and this research project sought to determine how accessible voluntary sector resources were for First Nations children, youth and families resident on reserve in British Columbia. Results of a provincial survey of First Nations child and family service agencies and child, youth and family voluntary sector organizations indicate very limited access to voluntary sector services. Possible rationales for this social exclusion are examined and recommendations for improvement are discussed.

Reflections of a Mi’kmaq social worker on a quarter of a century work in First Nations child welfare

First Nations people would argue that the ‘Sixties Scoop’ of removing their children from their homes and culture never ended. First Nations children entering ‘care’ of child welfare agencies has increased significantly since the 1960s and 1970s. Storying the journey of a Mi’kmaq social worker working with a First Nations child, aspects of the child welfare system will be theoretically and historically located and critiqued from a social justice perspective. Schools of Social Work will be challenged to provide an education inclusive of decolonization, understanding the historical limitations of the child welfare system and its impact upon First Nations peoples.

The politics of kith and kin: Observations on the British Columbia government’s reaction to the death of Sherry Charlie

This paper examines the events that occurred in British Columbia following the death of a First Nations child placed in a Kith and Kin arrangement. The paper, drawing extensively from internal government reports that were only just recently released to public, provides an “insider’s” view of government sponsored child welfare polices and practices in relation to First Nations child welfare agencies and the communities they serve.

Utilization of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect in First Nations Child Welfare Agencies in Ontario

The goals of this study are: to examine the awareness and utilization of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS) and the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (OIS) by First Nations child welfare decision-makers in the child welfare policy development process in the Province of Ontario and; to identify ways of making the CIS/OIS more useful to First Nations decision makers. No previous study has focused on assessing the influence and impact that the CIS/OIS data have on policy development with this specific population.

Childhood, Play and School: A Literature Review in Australia

Around age three, First Nations children in remote communities in Australia undertake a major transition from the home to formal schooling. This very important period of child development is typically monitored by non-First Nations educators. Yet these educators typically know little about First Nations child development of children aged birth to seven. The purpose of this review is to demonstrate the importance of describing the process of acquiring social and cultural practices that enable a child to become a dynamic, knowledgeable participant in a First Nations context from a strengths perspective.

Jordan’s Principle: Reconciliation and the First Nations Child

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was mandated to “document the individual and collective harms” of residential schools and to “guide and inspire a process of truth and healing, leading toward reconciliation.” The stories of survivors revealed the intergenerational and egregious harms of taking children from their families and communities. In seeking to redress the legacy of the residential schools era, the TRC Calls to Action include greater recognition of self-governance of Indigenous Peoples, as well as numerous recommendations for equitable funding of health, educational, and child welfare services.

Jordan's Principle: Reconciliation and the First Nations Child

In this article, I explore the connections between Jordan’s Principle and reconciliation. The forced institutionalization of children during the residential schools era resonates with the fact that Jordan Anderson was institutionalized in a hospital and unable to live in his community during his short life. Ensuring that First Nations children are treated fairly and are secure in having their social, economic, educational, and health needs met is understandably a fundamental starting point for reconciliation.

The Complainant: The Canadian Human Rights Case on First Nations Child Welfare

In February 2007, the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and the Assembly of First Nations filed a complaint under the Canadian Human Rights Act alleging that the Government of Canada’s inequitable provision of child welfare services to 163,000 First Nations children, along with its flawed implementation of Jordan’s Principle, was discriminatory on the prohibited grounds of race and national ethnic origin. The case was highly contested. By the time the final arguments were heard in 2014, the Government of Canada had made eight unsuccessful attempts to get the case dismissed on technical grounds and breached the law on three occasions. On 26 January 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal substantiated the complaint and ordered the Canadian Government to cease its discriminatory conduct. This article describes this historic case from the perspective of the executive director of the complainant, the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, highlighting access to justice issues for equality-seeking Indigenous groups, children, and civil society. Recommendations for reform are discussed.