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How to Assess and Mitigate Risk from a Mi'kmaq PerspectiveMacEachern, Mary 07 September 2022 (has links)
Within the journey of self-determination, Indigenous Peoples are creating various systems that reflect their ways of knowing and being. Mi’kmaq Family & Children Services is such an agency, however, it is mandated to use provincial legislation, guidelines and policies that are deeply rooted in western ways of knowing. This thesis explores how to assess and mitigate risk from a Mi’kmaq perspective. Mi’kmaq social workers, who have experience assessing risk and developing plans to mitigate it, were interviewed regarding their perspectives on what needs to be considered when creating a model of assessment for Mi’kmaq families. Storytelling methodology was used for interviewees to share broadly what they felt as necessary aspects to incorporate into the assessment and mitigation processes. As the researcher I analyzed the interviews for themes and ideologies that would be necessary to consider when assessing risk and creating tools that assist with this process. Four open ended questions were provided to interviewees as a guideline for this exploration. They are:
What do you believe the concerns, challenges and/or strengths of the current risk assessment model are when you are assessing the risk of Mi’kmaq children and youth?
From your knowledge of Mi’kmaq ways of knowing and being what do you think a Mi’kmaq risk assessment would/could/should look like?
Is risk assessment the right term for this work, or are there other words that best describe the work that we do from your knowledge of Mi’kmaq ways of knowing and being?
What are the opportunities a Mi’kmaq risk assessment could offer Mi’kmaq communities?
Due to Covid 19 restrictions the interviews had to occur by phone. They averaged one hour in duration. Interviewees agreed to be recorded, and following the interviews I transcribed the interviews. The transcription was given to each participant to review, edit and revise. The transcription was then formatted into a narrative format and each participant was given a name from the Seven Directions, with a pronoun being used to maintain anonymity. This narrative was given to each interviewee to review, edit and revise.
The research found the following themes: ongoing cultural competence training is needed; the effects of residential school and other assimilation/oppressive tactics, not only affected Mi’kmaq lives in the past but continues to affect them currently; due to this, trauma informed and strength based practice, that is collaborative, is essential. Interviewees stressed the importance of using tools, such as risk assessments, that are more reflective of, and uphold a collaborative process, which holds up Indigenous epistemology, ontology, and axiology. This includes practices such as, the Medicine Wheel, Seven Sacred Teachings, reciprocity, reflection, circular thinking, use of Medicines and various Spiritual practices. / Graduate
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The aboriginal justice inquiry-child welfare initiative in manitoba: a study of the process and outcomes for Indigenous families and communities from a front line perspectiveGosek, Gwendolyn M 22 December 2017 (has links)
As the number of Indigenous children and youth in the care of Manitoba child welfare steadily increases, so do the questions and public debates. The loss of children from Indigenous communities due to residential schools and later on, to child welfare, has been occurring for well over a century and Indigenous people have been continuously grieving and protesting this forced removal of their children. In 1999, when the Manitoba government announced their intention to work with Indigenous peoples to expand off-reserve child welfare jurisdiction for First Nations, establish a provincial Métis mandate and restructure the existing child care system through legislative and other changes, Indigenous people across the province celebrated it as an opportunity for meaningful change for families and communities. The restructuring was to be accomplished through the Aboriginal Justice Initiative-Child Welfare Initiative (AJI-CWI).
Undoubtedly, more than a decade later, many changes have been made to the child welfare system but children are still been taken into care at even higher rates than before the changes brought about by the AJI-CWI. In order to develop an understanding of what has occurred as a result of the AJI-CWI process, this study reached out to child welfare workers who had worked in the system before, during and after the process was put in place. Using a storytelling approach based in an Indigenous methodology, twenty-seven child welfare workers shared how they perceived the benefits, the deficits, the need for improvement and how they observed the role of Indigenous culture within the child welfare context. The stories provide a unique insight into how the changes were implemented and how the storytellers experienced the process, as well as their insights into barriers, disappointments, benefits and recommendations for systemic change. / Graduate
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How one becomes what one is: transformative journeys to allyshipKnudsgaard, Harald Bart 09 January 2020 (has links)
This thesis explores the phenomenon of Indigenous/non-Indigenous allyship. In this thesis, Indigenous child welfare leaders were interviewed regarding their perspectives on allyship and were asked to identify non-Indigenous leaders whom they consider allies. Through a storytelling methodology, these non-Indigenous leaders were interviewed regarding their journeys to allyship. As the researcher I employed thematic analysis of the interviews conducted to determine if there are patterns that suggest a process through which a non-Indigenous person becomes an ally. Analysis of the literature and the interviews conducted suggest critical processes that non-Indigenous leaders have undergone, and comprise a series of steps, in the journey to allyship. The research questions addressed in this thesis are:
(1) Are there process patterns or themes that emerge with the phenomenon of allyship?
(2) Is there a framework that can be identified that can inform a settler leader’s journey to becoming an ally?
The research findings suggest that there are essential process patterns that emerge with the phenomenon of allyship. Further, the findings suggest there is danger in suggesting a sequential or linear process for this journey of head, heart and spirit. / Graduate / 2020-12-19
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“Day by day: coming of age is a process that takes time”: supporting culturally appropriate coming of age resources for urban Indigenous youth in care on Vancouver IslandMellor, Andrea Faith Pauline 16 July 2021 (has links)
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s first call to action is to reduce the number
of Indigenous children and youth in care, including keeping young people in culturally
appropriate environments. While we work towards this goal, culturally appropriate
resources are needed to support children and youth as evidence shows that when
Indigenous youth have access to cultural teachings, they have improved physical, mental,
emotional, and spiritual health outcomes.
Our project focused on the protective qualities of Indigenous coming of age teachings.
Together with our community partner Surrounded by Cedar Child and Family Services,
we worked to develop resources that inform and advocate for a culturally-centered
coming of age for urban Indigenous youth living in foster care in Victoria, British
Columbia on Lekwungen Territory. This dissertation begins with a literature review to
provide the social and historical context surrounding urban Indigenous youth-in-care’s
access to coming of age teachings. This is followed by a description of the Indigenous
research paradigm that guided our work, what it meant for us to do this project in a good
way, and the methods that we used to develop three visual storytelling knowledge sharing
tools. Three manuscripts are presented, two published and one submitted, that reflect a
strength-based vision of coming of age shared by knowledge holders who participated in
our community events.
The first manuscript retells the events of the knowledge holder’s dinner, where
community members shared their perspectives on four questions related to community
engagement and youth support. An analysis of the event’s transcripts revealed key themes including the responsibility of creating safe-spaces for youth, that coming of
age is a community effort, and the importance of youth self-determining their journey. A
graphic recording and short story are used to illustrate and narrate the relationship
between key themes and related signifiers. This manuscript highlights the willingness of
the community to collectively support youth in their journeys to adulthood.
The second manuscript focuses on our two youth workshops that had the objective of
understanding what rites of passage youth in SCCFS’s care engage with and how they
learn what cultural teachings were most important to them. The findings suggest that
when youth experience environments of belonging, and know they are ‘part of something
bigger’, qualities like self-determination, self-awareness, and empowerment are
strengthened.
The third manuscript focuses on how we translated our project findings into different
storytelling modalities using an Indigenist arts-based methodological approach. The
project findings provided the inspiration and content for a fictional story called Becoming
Wolf, which was adapted into a graphic novel, and a watercolour infographic. These
knowledge sharing media present our project findings in accessible and meaningful ways
that maintain the context and essences of our learnings.
This research illustrates how Indigenous coming of age is an experience of
interdependent teachings, events, and milestones, that contribute to the wellness of the
body, mind, heart, and spirit of youth and the Indigenous community more broadly.
Through our efforts, we hope to create a shared awareness about the cultural supports
available to urban Indigenous youth that can contribute to lifelong wellness. / Graduate
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