An Indigenous Perspective on Attachment and Connectedness
Attachment theory, with its focus on the mother/child dyad is limited in terms of Indigenous family structures. Overgeneralizations about attachment theory (and brain development) are sometimes misapplied and used against Indigenous mothers in child welfare situations. For example, if a child is placed in government care for a temporary period while a mother is experiencing some life challenges, visits with the mother are sometimes attenuated while the child is encouraged to bond with new and perhaps temporary caregivers. When the child bonds with the non-Indigenous family, social workers often make the case that this new relationship should take precedence and that the birth mother is not able to care for the child, often due to poverty, isolation or perhaps due to paternal violence. In many cases, Indigenous mothers are not supported and colonial biases are applied against them. This topic can be explored further, along with traditional Aboriginal Mothering in the book “Until Our Hearts Are On The Ground: Aboriginal Mothering, Oppression, Resistance and Rebirth” by D. Memee Lavell-Harvard and Jeannette Corbiere Lavell (2006).
They open the book with the Cheyenne proverb:
A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground. Then it is done, no matter how brave its warriors nor how strong their weapons.
How Has the Federal Government influenced Indigenous identity in Canada?
In relation to Indigenous identity, the federal government has imposed many policies, laws, and definitions. This has complicated and confounded with Indigenous rights and identity. Limits on identity were written into the Indian Act, a piece of racialized legislation that still exists in Canada today. The Indian Act delineates who can be a “Status Indian” and who is relegated to the title “Non-Status”, meaning having no rights or fiduciary claims related to government instigated treaties through which Native land was transferred to Canada.
Today, many Indigenous people in Canada are concerned that Indigenous children are not receiving the same levels of funding as non-Indigenous Canadians. The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society Executive Director Cindy Blackstock has launched a supreme court challenge to pressure Canada to address this inequality.
A Sense of Identity Equals a Sense of Belonging
We are constantly developing our identity, from birth to the end of our lives. We build it based on our relationships to relatives, friends, community, geography, language and other social factors. Identity plays a key role in healthy child development Links to an external site.. When a child feels a sense of belonging to family, community and peers he or she is better able to deal with adversity.
The importance of identity is particularly true for Indigenous children's healthy development, since community and belonging are important parts of their cultures' belief systems. In recent years, Indigenous leaders have been striving to enhance children's sense of belonging. Some have called this a circle of connectedness. The circle is a sacred symbol in all Indigenous cultures. An emblem of wholeness, unity and infinity, it represents the cycles of life and the meaning of the universe. The circle of connectedness sees the child at the centre, surrounded by his or her parents, who are in turn surrounded by their community.
Research in child development Links to an external site. is clear that children's success in school, work and life is linked to their early years. Currently 38 per cent of Indigenous people are children under the age of 15. This is proportionally twice as high as the rest of the Canadian population. Since the overall Indigenous population is much younger than the overall Canadian population, the healthy development of Indigenous children is especially crucial to the future of their communities.
Yet, Indigenous children often face daunting challenges to healthy child development. They are at a higher risk of living in poverty than other children in Canada. First Nations children suffer from high rates of diabetes and obesity. Inuit children are affected by environmental problems that are contaminating traditional food sources and drinking water. Some Aboriginal children are disadvantaged from birth as a result of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Links to an external site.. Often times, they face discrimination in their schools and other community services. Many Indigenous communities believe that they can overcome these challenges by fostering a sense of cultural identity in their children.
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