Call to Action 5

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

An anonymous author articulates the importance of culturally-appropriate parenting programs, and urges schools to become allies in this work.

Author Introduction

Hello. I am a 23-year-old Anishinaabe woman. I am currently taking the Child and Youth Care Practitioner course at Cambrian College. Working with and supporting children and youth has always been a passion of mine. I am also a mother of two children!

I chose Truth and Reconciliation as one of my General Education courses for many reasons. For one, I am Indigenous and have had little opportunities to educate myself on my culture and its history until recently. Secondly, I believe it is extremely important for every person in Canada to first be aware of the history of residential schools- the colonization that took place for over 100 years, the traumas, and the repercussions that continue to affect the Indigenous communities in Canada.

Having knowledge of the history will help in understanding why reconciliation is so important, and why the 94 Calls to Action are so significant in repairing all aspects of Indigenous well-being that have been lost or weakened throughout history. And lastly, in my future career as a Child and Youth Care Practitioner I hope to support Indigenous youth in their healing from intergenerational and historical trauma.

Call to Action

The Call to Action I selected is Child Welfare, 5:

We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to develop culturally appropriate parenting programs for Aboriginal families.”

– TRC, 2015

I have chosen this call to action because I will be working with children and youth in the future who may be struggling with different life situations. In my hopes to support Indigenous children and youth, I believe healthy relationships between children and their families is the first step to create a positive home life which ultimately improves a child’s overall development and well being. Did you know that in Canada 52.2 percent of children in foster homes under the age of 14 are Indigenous? My aim is to create opportunities to educate parents, and develop activities and programs for parents to connect and strengthen the meaningful relationships with their children in a traditional setting.

Developing parenting programs for Aboriginal families is a stepping stone in repairing the intergenerational traumas Indigenous people experience. During colonization, Indigenous children were taken from their families and communities and put into residential schools. The main goal of these schools was to “take the Indian out of the child,” which resulted in being the children punished for speaking their Aboriginal language or practicing their culture in any way. These children were also separated from their loved ones, and forced into Christianity. The 150,000 Indigenous children who attended these schools suffered unbelievable traumas that resulted in serious mental health problems, loss of cultural identity, unhealthy coping mechanisms such as addictions, abuse, violence. The term intergenerational trauma explains how these issues are passed on throughout the generations of Indigenous people, still affecting families and communities today. Knowing this information, we can all understand the importance of developing culturally appropriate programs that support parents and child well-being.

Progress Update

This Call to Action is “In progress- Projects proposed”. The summary states “As of June 2019, while there are several provincial and territorial programs in place to assist Aboriginal families, they’ve not been developed in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #5. Some however, do receive federal funding” (CBC, 2019).

I did some research in attempts to find organizations who are supporting the specific call to action I am passionate about. I came across “Ontario Expanding Early Years Programming for Indigenous Children”. The previous Ontario government was funding the expansion of child care and early years programs that are culturally appropriate. Although this is mainly focusing on improving child care spaces, it is stated that there will be family programming rooms, culturally relevant programming, advice, personal connections, resources and play and inquiry-based learning for Indigenous children and families.

A quote from Sylvia Maracale, Executive Director of the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centers- “We are pleased about this expansion in child care and child and family programs in Ontario Friendship Centres through Journey Together. Fifteen Friendship Centres across the province will receive expanded programs and services through this next phase of investments. We know this will have a positive impact for urban Indigenous people living in cities and towns across Ontario. The long-term effects of adequately investing in our children will be felt for generations to come.” Although it was not specified in the mission stated on the websites, I found many other organizations across Canada that focus on child well being, parenting programs, and culturally based learning and traditional practices.

A Call for More

I call upon elementary school boards to offer culturally appropriate programs and workshops for Indigenous parents to engage with their children in activities such as language learning, traditional teachings, ceremonies and more. There is a gap in services for parenting after the pre-school stage, and the schools have capacity to engage families since the children are there the majority of the time. I am calling upon school board to invest money and space to host Indigenous parenting activities.

References

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (2019). Beyond the 94. Retrieved from https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform-single/beyond-94?&cta=5

Government of Ontario (2018). Ontario expanding early years programming for indigenous children. Retrieved from https://news.ontario.ca/edu/en/2018/02/ontario-expanding-early-years-programming-for-indigenous-children.html

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015). Calls to action. Retrieved from http://trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf