Older Adults -- Aging in Canada: Diabetes Diabetes is a common disease on First Na...

Older Adults -- Aging in Canada: Diabetes
Diabetes is a common disease on First Na...: Diabetes  Diabetes is a common disease on First Nations communities, it usually targets the elderly and the middle-aged, but is now tar...

Miigwetch Arlene for writing about Diabetes, sometimes I wonder if there is such a thing called diabetic mood swings.  There are so many people in are communities that have someone in their familty who is diabetic and they seem not to having any coping mechanisms.  I have witnessed some close personal friends spiral right out of control and abuse alcohol to cope, however, this just makes things worse. There really needs to be some diabetic support groungs on reserve as I see them in non-native communities. Maybe I will have to be that champion! Janet

Older Adults -- Aging in Canada: The Saga Continues

Older Adults -- Aging in Canada: The Saga Continues: The Sixties Scoop Government involvement in Anishinaabe family life goes back generations. The legacy of removing children from their ...

A close personal friend of mine was part of the sixties scoop and she has shared her walk with me.  I can't even possibly imagine what her life must of been like. The aprehension, being adopted by non-native people and growing up with identity issues and never feeling like she truly belonged.  She looked fair skinned so her adoptive parents raised her as a non-native person.  She knew that there was something wrong all her life.  She has since found and reconnected with all her brothers who were also part of that sixties scoop.  Miigwetch for sharing this issue.  Janet

A Synthesis of Knowledge - An Educational Journey into Social Welfare in Canada

     This thought provoking course took me on a journey of reflection, honesty, spirituality, truth, friendship, compassion, insight, failure, emotion, awareness, respect and collaborative teamwork.

     Social Welfare in Canada is a philosophical concept, a set of principles to achieve solutions to social problems, a product of legislative documents that prescribe how income security and social services are to be administered, and a process that encompasses change and a framework for action.

     This course opens a window into different facets of social issues experienced by the Canadian population.  I truly enjoyed the Aboriginal content of the course and the group work associated with older adults in Canada. The opportunity to develop my own voice, to research and critically think in order to highlight the array of social issues impacting senior citizens specific to First Nations at the community level.  

     As I come from a social housing background, I was intrigued with the lecture by guest speaker, Linda Savory-Gordon with regard to the Social Welfare Theory.  As I retain an Aboriginal worldview, it provided insight as to the different political ideologies underlining how other people view the world and how those ideologies impact on Canadian Politics in particularly, legislation specific to social welfare.  Linda’s passion for a project that she is working on externally regarding the railway also sparked my attention as she mentioned that this was the only second time in history that the government required an Environmental Site Assessment, so I asked her simply out of curiosity, what was the first and she advised “ Ipperwash” . 

     The Ipperwash crisis is a sad piece within our history with the Ontario Government as it resulted in the shooting of Dudley George regarding a controversial land dispute.  Former “Progressive Conservative” Premier, Mike Harris gained notoriety for his lack of leadership amongst other things.  This piece led into a conversation with Linda in class about the former premier, Mr. Harris and how I recalled that he was instrumental in the “Common Sense Revolution” and how that key political slogan and neo liberal document influenced how Ontario works is delivered today in our society. This also contributed to the dismantling of the Welfare State from 1995 until 2002.           

     The importance of the history of social welfare, and the English Poor Laws was another insightful presentation that I enjoyed as it took you to the beginning to where it all began and how those laws are still relevant today.  The deserving poor and the undeserving poor that was rooted within the “Statute of Labourers”.  It is a fundamental premise of income security.  

     This was a rich learning experience as I gained tremendous respect for my fellow classmates as they were my audience through the blogging assignment. The exchange of our knowledge and research surpassed my expectations. It also provided a vehicle to advocate for those individuals who don’t have a voice and to bring forth awareness for those critical social issues, such as Caregiver support, Elder abuse and the prescription pill epidemic, the Social Determinants of Health and the relationship to poverty and diabetes, and the inequality of substandard living conditions on reserve.      

Miigwetch,

Janet

REFERENCES

Hick, S. (2007). Social Welfare in Canada: Understanding Income Security (2nd ed.) Thompson Educational Publishing, INC.: Toronto, Canada

The Saga Continues

The Sixties Scoop

Government involvement in Anishinaabe family life goes back generations. The legacy of removing children from their families and communities, first through residential schools, and then through the child protection system, continues to impact the Anishinaabe.

Patrick Johnston, author of the 1983 report Native Children and the Child Welfare System, coined the term Sixties Scoop. It referred to a time in the mid-sixties when social workers scooped almost all newly born Anishinaabe babies and children into the child welfare system. In most cases, it was done without the consent of families or bands. Johnston said that during an interview with a social worker, who was crying, she told him the phrase and that she was crying because she realized what a mistake it had been.

The Sixties Scoop refers a larger history, and not to an open government history. Removal of Anishinaabe children existed before the 1960s with the residential school system. The high numbers of Anishinaabe children in the child welfare system increased in the 1960s when the children were taken from their homes and placed, in most cases, into middle-class Euro-Canadian families. Residential schools started to phase out in the 1950s and 1960s as the public began to understand the devastating impacts on families. Government authorities believed that Anishinaabe children would receive a better education if they were in the public school system. In 1951, an Indian Act amendment allowed the Province to provide federal services to the Anishinaabe. Child protection was now included.

In the 1960s social workers did not have specific training in dealing with Anishinaabe families. They were completely unfamiliar with the culture and history of the Anishinaabe. Their belief of proper care was based on middle-class Euro-Canadian values. When they did not see food in the fridges or cupboards, they assumed the adults were not providing for the children. They did not see that the families ate a traditional diet of dried game, fish, and berries. The social problems, poverty, unemployment, and addictions, reserve communities faced led the social workers to believe they had a need to protect the children. Most times, Anishinaabe parents who lived in poverty but provided caring homes had their children taken from them with no warning and or no consent. It was not until 1980; The Child, Family, and Community Services Act required social workers to notify the band council if an Anishinaabe child was removed from the community.

Birth records were not allowed to be opened unless the child and parent consented due to government policy. Many children who suspected their heritage were unable to have it confirmed. In some cases, the foster or adoptive parents told their children that they were French or Italian instead. Children moved from home to home or lived in institutionalized care. Physical and sexual abuse was not uncommon, but covered up. The lack of social services and support for Anishinaabe families and the affected children led to reluctance to acknowledge the abuse at the time. The Aboriginal Committee of the Family and Children’s Services Legislation Review Panel’s report, Liberating Our Children, describes the negative consequences for Anishinaabe children: slave labour, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, Anglo-Canadian foster parents are not culturally equipped to create a positive environment for Aboriginal self-image, and children are taught to demean those things about themselves that are Aboriginal. At the same time, an identity crisis emerged from the expectation of emulating normal child development by imitating the role model behavior of the Anglo-Canadian foster or adoptive parents. This identity crisis was unresolvable in this environment. This led to behavioral problems which in turn led to alternative foster care or adoptions relationships to break down. An Anishinaabe child cannot live up to the assimilation expectations of the non-Aboriginal caretaker.

Children who grew up in conditions of suppressed identity and abuse tend to eventually experience psychological and emotional problems. The roots of these problems do not emerge until later in life when they learned of their birth family or their heritage. Raven Sinclair, social work professor, describes these experiences as creating huge obstacles in the development of a strong and healthy sense of identity for the transracial adoptee. Feelings of not belonging to either society can also create barriers to reaching socio-economic equity.

Johnston did the first comprehensive statistical overview of Aboriginal child welfare in 1983. The results showed that there was a high number in of Aboriginal children in child welfare services. In 1985, Justice Edwin Kimelman released No Quiet Place: Review Committee on Indian and Métis and Adoptions and Placements, also known as The Kimelman Report, made 109 recommendations for policy change. He concluded that cultural genocide had taken place in a systematic and routine manner. He found that the policy of wholesale exportation, the Aboriginal children who were adopted out to American families appalled him. He finished his report by expressing his thoughts on his findings: a lack of sensitivity to children and families was revealed. When families approached agencies for help and found what was being described as being in the child’s best interest resulted in families being torn apart and siblings separated. Social workers handled cultural patterns far different that their own without preparation and without opportunity to gain understanding.

In her article, Identity Lost and Found: Lessons from the Sixties Scoop, Sinclair stated that the involvement of the child welfare system is not any less in the current era; the Sixties Scoop has evolved into the Millennium Scoop. Canada helped draft the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, an international instrument that set out minimum standards of human rights for children everywhere. In 2007, UNICEF reported that Canada had been slow to honor its commitment to uphold those rights and ensure the well-being of children. The report addressed the needs of Aboriginal children in particular: improvements are urgently needed to ensure that Aboriginal children have adequate housing, safe food and water, protection from environmental contaminants and access to health care. The intricacies of Aboriginal child welfare cannot be underestimated event though policy continues to be reviewed and revised.

References:

Ball, Jessica (June 2008). Promoting Equity and Dignity for Aboriginal Children in Canada. Institute for Research on Public Policy Choices. IRPP Choices, Aboriginal Quality of Life, Vol. 14, no. 7. Retrieved from: http://www.irpp.org/choices/archive/vol14no7.pdf

Fournier, Suzanne and Crey, Ernie (1997). Stolen from Our Embrace. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre Ltd.

Hanson, Eric. The Sixties Scoop and Aboriginal Child Welfare. Retrieved from: http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/government-policy/sixties-scoop.html

Kimelman, Edwin C (1985). No quiet place: final report to the Honourable Muriel Smith, Minister of Community Services / Review Committee on Indian and Métis Adoptions and Placements. Manitoba. Review Committee on Indian and Métis Adoptions and Placements.

Lyons, Tom. Stolen Nation. Retrieved from: www.wrcfs.org/repat/stolennation.htm.

Pivot Legal Society (2008).  Broken Promises: Parents Speak Out about B.C.’s Child Welfare System. Pivot Legal Society. Retrieved from: http://www.pivotlegal.org/Publications/reportsbp.htm

Sinclair, Raven (2007). Identity Lost and Found: Lessons From the Sixties Scoop. First Peoples Child and Family Review.

White, Lavina and Jacobs, Eve (1992). Liberating Our Children Liberating Our Nations. Report of the Aboriginal Committee Community Panel Family and Children’s Services Legislation Review in British Columbia.

Chi-Miigs,

Kimberly

Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don't

On and Off the Reservation; By Force and By Choice

My maternal great grandmother lived on land that was accessible only by walking in. She spoke about the times that she walked out to catch the train to come to town for supplies. My grandmother lived on the Mississauga First Nation. My mother grew up in Sault Ste. Marie. I live here as well. My paternal great grandmother lived on Thessalon First Nation, until the government reduced the size of the reservation. She no longer lived on the reservation because the borders were changed. My grandmother and father lived in the town of Thessalon. My father did not want his young family to be anywhere near the reservation. What was the basis of his strong feelings against living on the reserve?

What is a reservation? The Indian Act describes an Indian Reserve as a tract of land set aside under the act and treaty agreements for the exclusive use of an Indian band. Their members possess the right to live on reserve lands, and band administrative and political structures are usually located there. These lands are not owned by bands, but held in trust for bands by the Crown. The Indian Act grants the Minister of Indian Affairs authority over much of the activity on reserves.

How did these reserves start out? Prior to Confederation and the Indian Act, the colonial drive to civilize the Anishanaabe by introducing them to agriculture and religion, this lifestyle was based on private property.  As early as 1637, the government funded churches run by missionaries, with land to be held for the Indians who were their responsibility. This would become the rough model for subsequent reserves in Canada.  In the 19^th century, the Robinson Treaty in Ontario, included provisions for the creation of reserves.  The Anishinaabe agreed to share lands and resources with settlers in exchange for the guarantee the traditional activities such as hunting and fishing would continue undisturbed. The Anishinaabe understood that the lands and their practices would be respected and that they would not be confined within such a small space indefinitely. Indian agents told the Anishinaabe that the reserve system was to encourage agriculture. Many Anishinaabe found that they were moved to land unsuitable for agriculture, rocky areas with poor soil quality or steep slopes. Settlers took the most fertile lands for themselves. Later, Indian agents used the Anishinaabe’s minimal agricultural production to move the boundaries of reserve lands, making them smaller again.

What happened on reserves? Reservation creation impacted all aspects of Anishinaabe life. On a fundamental level the reserve system was a government sanctioned displacement of the Anishinaabe. It divided up land and Nations that existed for thousands of years. Families, houses, and clans who hunted and gathered together for generations were joined with other families and houses that disrupted social networks and kinship systems that determined who could hunt, fish, and gather in particular areas.

What kind of houses did they live in? The government sponsored the construction of housing on reserves. The houses were designed with the Western nuclear family in mind. These houses could not accommodate larger, more extensive Anishinaabe families. They were built on small government budgets that were not well built. The houses were another way to break families apart.

Was there anything else impacting the Anishinaabe families? In 1880, the government established the residential school system across Canada. Indian agents and missionaries, forcibly and without consent, took children away from their families and familiar surroundings. In 1920, under the act, it was mandatory for every Indian child to attend a residential school and it was illegal for them to attend any other educational institution. Control of the lives of Anishinaabe went beyond the residential school system. Starting in the 1960s and into the 1980s, large numbers of Anishinaabe children were forcibly and without consent, taken from their families and communities and placed in foster care. Many of these children were adopted into non-native families in Canada. This practice was termed the “Sixties Scoop” by Patrick Johnson in his 1983 report Native Children and the Child Welfare System. The child welfare system operated under the same principles of the residential school system: it assumed that Anishinaabe parents could not provide appropriate homes or upbringing for their children and that the disorganised nature of reserve communities required that the children be removed.  

What are the ongoing effects of these policies? The forced assimilation policies of the Anishinaabe are prime sources of poor health and devastating social consequences. These include individual identity, mental health, structure and integrity of families, communities, bands, and nations. Narrative and life histories tell us that the residential school experience has had continuing psychological, social, and economic effects on survivors. Trans generational effects of the residential schools include: the structural effects of disrupting families and communities; poor parenting skills based on experience in punitive institutional settings; emotional response with little or no warmth and intimacy in childhood; repetition of physical and sexual abuse; loss of knowledge, language, and tradition; and systematic devaluing of Anishinaabe identity. These effects have led a loss of individual and collective self-esteem, to individual and collective disempowerment, and the destruction of communities.

How do others look at Anishinaabe? Forced assimilation has also had an effect on how the rest of the population look at Anishinaabe. Popular media still show the stereotypes of savage and drunken Indian. Racism still exists, though often subtle. The continued lack of historical awareness of the Anishinaabe’s experience with colonization and the continuing impact on their well-being and social options is part of the problem. Anishinaabe efforts at self-governance are slowed by government bureaucracy.

Where do the Anishinaabe live now?  In an article posted on line through CBC News Manitoba, Joseph Quesnel wrote that urbanization is inevitable and that people move where there is opportunity. The article also reported that the people who live on reserves earn less money and have social problems that include alcoholism, domestic abuse, and suicide. Anishinaabe report that the high cost of living, lack of jobs, and poor housing are the reasons they will not go back. Off reserve living provides a better life for Anishinaabe because of access to resources, education, and opportunities.

What was the basis of his strong feelings against living on the reserve? The Anishinaabe were forced onto reservations by Indian agents. Land that was of little value to the agricultural system they were supposed to implement. Land that had boundaries that kept shrinking, effectively removing some people from the reservation. Reservations and rules of travel outside the boundaries enforced by the Indian agents broke the bonds of social networks and kinship systems that the Anishinaabe relied on for thousands of years. Hunting, fishing, and gathering practices were disrupted by the implementation of the Indian Act. Cheap housing designed for Western families did not fit the extended families of the Anishinaabe. The government’s attempt to “take the Indian out of the child” included the practice of the residential school and the “sixties scoop”.  The negative stereotype of the Anishinaabe and the racism shown to the people continue due to lack of knowledge of the history of the Anishinaabe.  Whether we live on the reserve or off, the Indian Act, and other policies that govern the Anishinaabe  have given us a life riddled with many huge problems. The term “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” certainly applies in the case of live on the reserve or live off the reserve.

Resources:  

Harris, Cole (2002). Making Native Space: Colonialism, Resistance, and Reserves in British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press, 291. Retrieved from: http://indigenousfoundatins.arts.ubc.ca/?id=8356

Johnston, Patrick (1983). Native Children and the Child Welfare System. Publisher: Canadian Council on Social Development. Ottawa, Ontario

 (April 2002). Leaving Reserve May Be Key to Aboriginal Success: Think – Tank.  Retrieved from:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2008/04/11/reserve-paper.html

Miigwich: Kimberly

Blog 5 - Bonus 

Aging

My final blog will explore the ideologies of the aging in Canada. Aging is the accumulation of changes in a person overtime.  Aging in humans refers to a multi-dimensional process of physical, psychological and social change.  Some dimensions of aging grow and expand overtime.  Research shows that late in life, potential exists for physical, mental and social growth and development.  Aging is an important part of all human societies reflecting the biological changes that occur, but also reflecting culture and societal conventions.

Age is measured "chronologically, and a person's birthday is often an important event, however, the term aging is ambigeous.  I was part of the older adult group in class and many different topics were mentioned in the blogs and the final presentations.  Their are so many social issues that I didn't even realize were affecting the elderly such poverty, elder abuse, health - mentally and physically, neglect, poor living conditions etc.  The presentations were an example of the social problems in many different groups of people.

Differences are sometimes made between populations of elderly people.  Divisions are sometimes made between the young old (64-74), the middle old (75-84) and the oldest old (85+).  However problematic this is, chronological age does not correlate perfectly with functional age, i.e. two people may be of the same age, but differ in their mental and physical capacities.  Each nation, government and non-government organizations has different ways of classifying age.  Population aging is on the increase in the number and proportion of older people in society.  Population aging has three possible causes such as, migration, longer life expectancy (decreased death rate) and decreased birth rate. 

Aging has a significant impact on society.  Young people tend to commit most crimes, they are more likely to push for political and social change, to develop and adopt new technologies, and to need education.  Older people have different requirements from society and government as opposed to young people, and frequently differing values as well.  Older people are far more to vote in many countries whereas, the young are forbidden from voting, the aged have comparitively more political influence.

In conclusion, I would just like to say that the blogs in each group were very informative.  The older adult group had especially lot of patience for me while I had faced a family emergency during this past semester.  Thanks to everyone for all the teachings.

Meegwetch,

Arlene

References:  www.enwikipediaorg.wiki

                       G.R. Wellness Centre pamphlets

Home Care Services Within Aboriginal Communities With Females being the primary care givers.

Home Care Services Within Aboriginal Communities With Females being the primary care givers.

-More Involvement in homecare polies!


Women have always been the primary caregivers within our families and often times we overlook their importance. I particularly wanted to focus on the role that Anishaabe women play in taking care of the elderly within their families and the importance of having their voice within the health system.

Anishabe women have played an important role as care providers and healers within their communities and families (Prokop, Haug, Hogan, McCarthy & Lorraine, 2004). Caregivers is a title giving to those who take care of others and according to characteristics of family/Friends care networks of frail seniors article most caregivers comprise of younger females that are geographically proximate. They comprise of in higher proportions of women who are kin (Fast, Keating, Otfinowski & Derksen, 2004).

While reading the Aboriginal women and home care article it focused particularly on the focus of home care and how this helps continue culture as well as traditions. It also mentioned “ the vision of the elders, handicapped and chronically and acutely ill, is to continue to live productive, useful lives in their homes, close to their families, in their communities (Prokop, Haug, Hogan, McCarthy & Lorraine, 2004).

A great focus within this topic was the need for the Anishaabe view within the health care system in Canada, which would combat the higher systemic discrimination they face (Prokop, Haug, Hogan, McCarthy & Lorraine, 2004). This would be important because they would not just be “subjects of home care policy and program development” but would take an active role to “in programing shaped by their culture, values, aspirations, healing gifts, vision and understanding of health” (Prokop, Haug, Hogan, McCarthy & Lorraine, 2004).


Having this involvement within programing I think would mirror the social democrat ideology of everyone having equal chances especially in public welfare. This would be an investment in the people and would be a greater result for the communities involved. It is not enough to just have programing if it does not benefit they people in which it is ment. Especially the Anishaabe community which already face many other inequalities.


Hoda



References:



Fast, J., Keating, N., Otfinowski, P., & Derksen, L. (2004). Characteristics of family/friend care networks. Canadian Journal of Aging, 23(1), 5-19.



Prokop, S. T., Haug, E., Hogan, M., McCarthy, J., & Lorraine, M. (2004). Aboriginal women and home care. In K. R. Grant, C. Amaratunga, P. Armstrong, M. Boscoe & A. Pederson (Eds.),Caring, Home Care,and Unpaid CaregivingRetrieved from http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sUUOvkyRsKcC&oi=fnd&pg=PA147&dq=aboriginal women and home care&ots=ClPFPa-Srv&sig=vWt-_mVYmJfjTYC3bhWiAWXrRoc