Aboriginal Children: Welfare

The welfare of Aboriginal children is a topic that has received some attention over the years, but not nearly enough to bring about an impactful change.

Although there have been a couple of cases over the past 30 years that have brought significant attention to the over representation of Aboriginal children in state care, the problem has only become worse. The root of the issue is multi-generational trauma that began with the colonization period. Since then, the residential school system (which lasted officially from 1876 to 1996) has had a profound impact on the Aboriginal people of Canada. Many parts of their distinct cultures and the traditions that were so important to their ancestors have been lost. Decisions made by the government over the years (land settlements, money towards reserves, child maltreatment, etc.) have consistently put the interests of the First Nations people last, giving this people less control over the possibility to overcome the obstacles they face and become successful individuals. 

Until the early 1970s, child maltreatment was treated by having the child removed from their home by a child welfare services worker and placed in residential school. Their solution to the problem involved no form of a prevention program or family support. During the 1960s to early 1990s, mass amounts of Aboriginal children were placed for adoption and put into homes that were often far away. Child welfare service workers also rarely took into account the multi-generational trauma that many of these children had experienced. These and other obstacles would lead to further challenges when trying to grow accustomed to their new environment and families.

   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRUhXIF1q68

In more recent years it has been found that when Aboriginal children who are at risk are provided with culturally based support, positive changes can happen for both children and their families in a significant way.  One of the most successful initiatives to date is the Manitoba Aboriginal Justice Inquiry Child Welfare Initiative. This organization allows families to decide which derivative they would like service from (Métis, Southern First Nations, Northern First Nations, or Mainstream) and accommodates their needs in respective and culturally sensitive manner. Programs like this one should be implemented across Canada. 

Aboriginal kids in foster family

Despite the aboriginal people are representing only four percent (4%) of the entire population of Canada, almost half of the kids on foster families are the aboriginal kids (14-years-old and younger). In a research made in 2011,  out of 30,000 kids in foster families, 14,225 are aboriginal. But the aboriginal kids also are having other problems, now with their families. Less than fifty per cent live with both parents. That is a problem because of several reasons, like: children raised with both parents have better marks at school,  better emotional health and fewer behavioural problems. They will also have a better and more romantic relationships during their adult life. While  teenager, if you aren't having dinner with your both parents, the probability of the usage of drugs by the teen increases. With aboriginal kids being highly affected by this, they have an urgency for help. I don't want to stop helping the Canadians with the same problem, I want to raise awareness because the aboriginal, that have big numbers in this problems, are being neglected by society also. For this reasons, we should help the aboriginals, making donations, talk to them.... basically, be friendly do charity. Let's prevent this vicious cycle of abandoning and transform it into a happy family, together. Let's not forget about the society, the culture, that was here before all of us.

Aboriginal killed in the child

            Aboriginals people in Canada. They were here before anyone else. Canadians got here, and took their place, their home. But that was not enough. They had to take away their right to freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression. Something that wasn't said by the drunk guy on the corner, something that is written on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Canadians took away these rights through the Indian Residential School System. They were taking the little aboriginals from their parents because their culture was not as good as the Canadian one. They would put the Indians on catholic or anglican schools, they would find foster families etc. They were prohibiting them of getting any contact with their native culture and language, if they did not accomplished this tasks, they would be punished. But this punishments are not the only abuse related with these schools. Some of the staff of the school would abuse the kids or beat them up. From 150,000 kids on these projects, around 4,000 died. This is called "killing the Indian in the child". This would take away the Indian culture, replace with the Canadian, and you would get a "politically correct" Indian. When a few kids were able to run away, they headed back home, but they were brainwashed already.... The normal natives would laugh of him/her, they were called "apples", because as an apple, they were red in the outside, but with a white spirit inside. Because of these horrible actions that we created this blog. To show the world what happened, so we can fix the problems. Many of the abused kids, nowadays, have issues. They don't have a normal life, they are afraid of people. We need to change this. We need to show the native Canadians that we are friendly. We need to learn with them their culture, a culture that is around Canada even before the Canada that we know exist. Follow us and learn more about this incredible history.