Given that identity is such an important aspect of Indigenous culture, it's no wonder that certain historical events have been so devastating

Restoring identity

Given that identity is such an important aspect of Indigenous culture, it's no wonder that certain historical events have been so devastating. From the turn of the century until the mid-1970s, tens of thousands of Indigenous children were moved far from their families to residential schools. The aim of the schools was to educate and assimilate the children and the results were disastrous. The stories of emotional and physical abuse are well documented but there were also other types of damage. Children were forbidden to speak their traditional languages or to practice traditional customs. They were made to feel that their way of life was "primitive" or "sinful." For many, the most vivid lessons they learned were disdain for their peoples' way of life, and disconnectedness from their communities. Another unfortunate legacy of the residential schools is that their students later became parents without having role models for traditional childrearing. The wounds from this experience are still raw – currently close to 86,000 people still living once attended these schools.

Then, between the 1960s and 1980s, high numbers of Indigenous children were "scooped" from their homes and placed in foster homes or adopted out. Usually, they were placed with non-Indigenous families and lost all ties with their natural families. The intention was to give the children the chance to grow up in more "advantaged" homes. However, many adoptees have said that they felt a great sense of lost identity from the experience.

You may have the experience of having a child in your care recently learning that they are Indigenous (e.g. First Nations, Métis and Inuit). Due to historical racism and the history of Indigenous adoption, many people are still learning about their ancestry today. The most common way for a Métis person to learn they are Métis is when an elder shares this fact on their deathbed. Métis families have typically been told to not talk about being Métis because they would be excluded, denied jobs and subjected to racism. With a gradual increase in cultural safety, more and more people are taking pride in their ancestry.

You may learn of a child being reconnected with birth family. This process can create a lot of intense emotions for the child as well as for the child’s adoptive parents. You may need to work with great sensitivity at this time, to offer support and listening to the child and to the parents/caregivers. One of the things that is always helpful is to listen with gentleness and ask if there is something you can do to be helpful. Children can often be “caught in the middle” of adult situations, for various reasons, and family/tribal reunifications can be a sensitive time. The rewards can be many, but it can also be a time of upheaval with potential disappointments. However, historically, we are in a period in Canadian life where a large number of Aboriginal people are trying to find their roots, mending and restoring the relationships that were broken due to colonialism.

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