This thesis argues that despite political promises and rhetoric to the contrary the federal and provincial governments maintain through their policies, legislation, and regulations the continued assimilation of First Nations; under the guise of supporting First Nations attempts to resume governance over child and family services. It is my assertion that governments both federal, provincial and First Nations need to begin a process and transition towards self-governance in child and family services based on our traditional laws and practices, in order to ensure the continued survival of our nations. I have set out a number of preliminary options for assisting in the process of decolonization in the area of child welfare. This thesis is written from my perspective as a First Nations woman engaged in the practice of law in the area of First Nations child and family services. A perspective which is inspired by the political work of my relations in the advancement of Aboriginal rights and title in British Columbia. In chapter one I discuss the impact of colonization on First Nations children, families, communities and governments and conclude that the state (federal and provincial governments), far from promoting First Nations child welfare, have served to create enormous despair, poverty, dependency, and an erosion of First Nations cultures, languages, and governance. This chapter ends with a discussion of First Nations values, practices and traditions in relation to child rearing and "child protection. Chapter two examines the recent changes to child and family service delivery in British Columbia , changes which effectively continue the process of assimilation. Chapter three examines the current delegated model of First Nations child and family services in British Columbia. I argue that the delegated model is premised on assimilation, in that First Nations are bound to comply with the very legislative and administrative models that were illustrated in chapters one and two to have had such a devastating impact on First Nations children, families, communities and governments. Finally, the fourth chapter provides an overview of the federal and provincial constitutional framework and political "support" for self-government juxtaposed against First Nations' perspectives of their inherent right to self-government. In conclusion I propose a number of interim measures that would support First Nations resumption of self-government of child and family services . It is extremely important, in my opinion, that a process and transition towards true self-governance begin as soon as possible building upon First Nations community values and cultural practices. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

The use of a computer-assisted assessment program to train phonological awareness skills in grade 1 First Nations students was examined. Thirty-two children ranging in age from six years four months to eight years 1 month participated in an eight-week intervention study. There were two groups involved in the study. The experimental group received approximately fifteen minutes a day, five days a week training with a phonological based computer program called Reading Edge. The comparison group received the same amount of training with a computer program called Living Books which focused on sight words. When compared to the comparison group, children in the experimental group showed significantly greater gains on measures of final phoneme isolation, total phoneme isolation, phoneme blending, initial phoneme deletion, total phoneme deletion, word identification and word attack. Thus, the computer-assisted assessment program Reading Edge was successful in improving the reading and phonological awareness skills of grade 1 First Nations students.

This paper examined the apparent effects of residential schools on the child-rearing patterns of Natives who attended these schools. Evidence came from the literature and from three interviews with persons who attended residential schools -- one male elder and two females, who answered four open-ended questions. The findings suggest that this type of educational experience caused psychological and cultural losses in self-esteem, child-rearing patterns, and Native Indian language. New and different behaviours had.to be learned by the children in middle childhood to cope and exist in a parentless environment where no feelings of love or care were demonstrated by the caretakers and the speaking of Cree and other Native languages was forbidden. Values and skills taught by Native parents/elders, and essential for survival in Native society, lost their importance in residential schools; the Native language was not taught to subsequent generations; and the separation of siblings by sex and age created strangers in families. These experiences will presumably be transmitted in some form to the next generation, thereby affecting the way Natives view themselves. To restore confidence in themselves and respect for essential patterns of child-rearing the process of healing is vital and recommended. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

The Musqueam Indian band has no formal child welfare agreement with the province of British Columbia. Recently the Musqueam Indian Band has expressed a desire to work towards developing community based child and family services on reserve. This research examines the historical factors as well as contemporary factors relating to child welfare at the Musqueam Indian Band. This research utilized a qualitative research paradigm to identify the specific community dimensions that would be the basis for autonomous family and child services at the band. This study identifies the importance of kinship, linguistic, geographic, religious, experimental and contemporary dimensions within the Musqueam community. This study goes on to provide policy and program recommendations for culturally specific family and child services at the band. This research will be incorporated into a funding proposal put forward to the provincial government for programs and services at the Musqueam Indian Band. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The use of a computer-assisted assessment program to train phonological awareness skills in grade 1 First Nations students was examined. Thirty-two children ranging in age from six years four months to eight years 1 month participated in an eight-week intervention study. There were two groups involved in the study. The experimental group received approximately fifteen minutes a day, five days a week training with a phonological based computer program called Reading Edge. The comparison group received the same amount of training with a computer program called Living Books which focused on sight words. When compared to the comparison group, children in the experimental group showed significantly greater gains on measures of final phoneme isolation, total phoneme isolation, phoneme blending, initial phoneme deletion, total phoneme deletion, word identification and word attack. Thus, the computer-assisted assessment program Reading Edge was successful in improving the reading and phonological awareness skills of grade 1 First Nations students. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

In his 1978 biography of Grace Carpenter Hudson, Searles R. Boynton refers to the artist as "the best in California," praising her life-long dedication to depicting the Pomo children of Northern California. During her lifetime (1865-1937), Hudson's work traveled to museums, world fairs, and expositions across the United States. The purpose of this research is to assert that Hudson's work is evidence of, and a response to, turn-of-the-twentieth-century Euro-Americans' hopes that the American Indian child could be "redeemed," or "saved," from their "savage" or "undomesticated" past. Additionally, this paper aims to convince the reader of the significance of Hudson’s art as it marks an implicant, although paramount, shift in the history of representation of the American Indian child. To accomplish these tasks, it will be necessary to investigate artwork featuring the American Indian child produced before and after Hudson, the artist’s early influences, along with the artist's own work and words. Based on these sources, this thesis attempts to identify how viewers can understand the popularity of Hudson's work as a point of transference that existed between representation and reality during a period of the simultaneous rejection and resurrection of the American Indian. Through a process of perpetuating ideologies, the manipulation of the studio, subject, and space, and modernist influences regarding Indigenous peoples, the work that Hudson produced is emblematic of a time in which the larger American public was more interested in the proliferation of Euro-centric ideals than the preservation of American Indian life and culture.

This study examines the long-term effects of the Indian Placement Program on the enrolled students' scholastic achievement as measured by standardized tests given in the schools. It also examines intelligence test scores and changes in them during years in the Program. The following effects on achievement were also examined: sex, age and grade at initial placement, and the child's adjustment as measured by number of foster homes in which he had been placed.

This qualitative study informs the literature by bringing two perspectives together: the trauma of residential school abuse and the transpersonal viewpoint of healing. A phenomenological hermeneutic approach explored lived experiences of residential school survivors and their families. Transpersonal psychology was introduced as the focus for a new healing paradigm. The research questions ask, “What has been the lived experience of the trauma of residential school abuse” and “How are traditional and non-traditional healing practices mutually applied in the recovery process by individuals who are impacted by the residential school experience”? Five First Nations co-researchers were interviewed, the data was analyzed, coded, and a thematic analysis was undertaken from which six themes emerged. The results of this study may go on to employ this new healing paradigm to help First Nations people gain spiritual wholeness. Finally, a description and summary of research findings, limitations and implications for counselling were discussed. / x, 193 leaves ; 29 cm. --