Repatriation Report
The full Repatriation Report can be downloaded at the bottom of the page.
OUR WAY HOME:
A Report to the Aboriginal Healing and Wellness Strategy on the Repatriation of Aboriginal People Removed by the Child Welfare System.
Executive Summary
Native Child and Family Services of Toronto, in association with consultants Janet Budgell and Stevenato and Associates, have prepared this report under the direction of the Repatriation Research Working Group of the Aboriginal Healing and Wellness Strategy - Joint Steering Committee. The purpose of the Project was to:
- gain a thorough understanding of the repatriation key issues and concerns,
- identify the types of repatriation models being implemented in Ontario, other Provinces and other countries,
- review the successful approaches and determine if they might work in Ontario,
- develop a demographic profile of adult Aboriginal adoptee and foster children,
- consult with service providers from the Aboriginal and mainstream community, individuals who
- have or are going through a repatriation process, and Elders,
recommend a repatriation model for Aboriginal people in Ontario.
The Research Project focused on the issues arising from the "Sixties Scoop" (and not present day adoptee), a period during the 1960’s, 1970’s and early 1980’s when large numbers of Aboriginal children were removed from their homes and communities and placed in non-Native foster homes or adopted out to non-Aboriginal families.
The Project was conducted in four phases, with a number of steps per phase:
- Phase 1: Background Data Collection and Literature Review
- Phase 2: Public Consultation
- Phase 3: Needs Assessment
- Phase 4: Implementation Strategy
To prepare this report, documents were reviewed from Canada, United States, Australia and New Zealand, including provincial and federal demographic data, and a Literature Review was prepared.
Since repatriation is a very sensitive issue, consultations, interviews and focus groups were conducted with:
- Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal organizations which deliver repatriation services to the Aboriginal population in Ontario,
- experts throughout Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand,
- staff of Native child welfare authorities, and
- Aboriginal people who have or are going through the repatriation process (adult adoptee, adult
- Foster children/Crown Wards, birth families, adoptive parents).
"Repatriation is a process whereby the community reestablishes ties between children, their families and the community. Depending on each situation, the nature of these "ties" may be quite different. Aboriginal people seek repatriation for different reasons, including:
- to re-gain their Indian status
- to find out about medical histories
- to meet their birth child (parents) or birth family (adoptee, foster children)
- to re-establish temporary, periodic or permanent ties with their birth child/families
- to move to the community
Many Aboriginal children were taken from their birth parents during the 1960’s, 1970’s and early 1980’s. Removal of children was initiated in 1965 when the Federal-Provincial Indian Welfare Agreement was struck which gave the Province of Ontario the power and authority to administer child welfare services under its Child Welfare Act for status Indians living on Reserve. These provincial services were provided by Children’s Aid Societies (C.A.S.). C.A.S.’s removed large numbers of Aboriginal children from their homes and communities and took them into care. It was not until December 1981 when the All Ontario Chiefs Conference (AOCC) Resolution 81/19 was passed, that the number of children removed from communities started to decrease. The Resolution initiated the process for First Nation communities to begin planning their own child welfare agencies. As a direct result of this Resolution, a number of Native child welfare agencies were developed to serve First Nations people.
Children were removed from their families and communities by Child Welfare Authorities "in the best interests of the child" because the birth parents were deemed to be "inadequate parents" and the communities to be "socially disorganized". What the Child Welfare Authorities did not understand was the different family and community structures, as well as the different cultural values and the accepted norms of raising children in Aboriginal culture with respect to "sharing, permissiveness and discipline" (for example) compared to non-Aboriginal society.
Many of the people interviewed believe that the "Sixties Scoop" was colonialism in action, leading to assimilation and hence contributing to cultural genocide of the Aboriginal people. The impacts were extreme, not only on the children removed from the First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, but also on the birth families and the community. Birth parents were often led to believe that they were inadequate parents. Many did not understand why their children were being taken away from them. The grief and anguish birth parents suffered often led to the abuse of alcohol as a way of trying to cope with the situation, which in turn often led to the removal of additional children.
The Aboriginal children removed from their communities were usually placed in non-Native foster homes, or adopted into non-Native homes, often out-of-Province and sometimes out-of-Country. In general, these individuals received little or no information on their background or culture, even though they knew there were different from other children in their community.
There are few organizations focusing on repatriation in Ontario, let alone in Canada. The only recognized Aboriginal programs are found in British Columbia (United Native Nations, Gitxsan Reconnection Program, Wet’su wet’en Repatriation Program), and Manitoba (Manitoba First Nations Repatriation Program). No formal Aboriginal repatriation program is available in Ontario, however, the various Native Child Welfare Authorities as well as Aboriginal organizations such as Friendship Centre’s and Métis organizations, provide ad hoc services to assist adult adoptee, foster children and birth parents/families to re-connect with one another.
Mainstream services are also provided by government agencies in Ontario through the Adoption Disclosure Register (A.D.R.) and the Children’s Aid Societies (C.A.S.) located across the province. These services are augmented by a number of non-profit, volunteer organizations with a mandate to assist individuals with the repatriation process, and who try to ‘fill the gaps’ in the governmental system.
It is not known for sure how many Aboriginal children were removed during the Sixties Scoop in Ontario, or how many would be interested in repatriating. We do know, however, that the Aboriginal population was highly over-represented with regard to the removal of children from their homes compared to the general population.
The affected people, now adults, experience a number of significant barriers which make it difficult for them to link up with their natural families. There is a serious lack of awareness among many Aboriginal communities about repatriation issues and the repatriation process. As well, there is still a lot of fear and mistrust towards the Children’s Aid Society or any government agency (so asking for help is not an option of choice). As a result, few Aboriginal people are repatriating.
There are barriers resulting from the existing legislation, making it difficult to access the necessary identifying information to assist with a search. Unfortunately, there is a seven year waiting list for searches to be conducted by the Adoption Disclosure Register. Many Aboriginal people cannot afford the fees for various documents and searches, legal fees, or the travel costs to conduct their own searches and to meet with natural families. Others are confronted with language and literacy barriers.
For those who are fortunate enough to meet their birth relative(s), they are faced with tremendous emotional upheaval and culture shock. At the same time, the First Nations and Aboriginal communities have to deal with the influx of ‘strangers’ into the community and the impact on hard and soft services. Existing Aboriginal organizations, such as Native child and family services authorities, Friendship Centre’s, Métis and Inuit organizations and First Nations, which assist Aboriginal people and communities with repatriation do not have access to the necessary information they need to help individuals with searches. Nor do they have the resources, expertise, skills or time to provide the ongoing care, support and counseling needed for many reunions to survive. Specialized counseling skills are required to address emotions and situations related to reunions. As a result, many reunion attempts break down. Similarly, mainstream agencies often do not have the cultural sensitivity or awareness or understanding of the history and culture to provide satisfactory support.
The report recommends establishing a service which can be established to help Aboriginal people reconnect and to help them understand and deal with the many years of grief and anger that they experienced, and offer them an opportunity to become reacquainted with their traditions, families and communities if they wish to do so.
The model includes:
- a central Aboriginal repatriation office operating under the umbrella of an existing Aboriginal organization,
- two or more Aboriginal staff (policy analyst / education and awareness, and counselor / trainer),
access to the Adoption Disclosure Register (A.D.R.) and/or Canadian Adoptee Registry database
- to conduct matches and searches
- referrals to Aboriginal or culturally sensitive professionals as required
- access to internet databases, possibly developing an Aboriginal sub-set
- coordination with related organizations, both Aboriginal and mainstream
Services are to include:
- training and education services for family support workers with Native Child Welfare Authority, Friendship Centre’s, Métis organizations and First Nations so they have the necessary skills to
- provide hands-on community care
- policy analysis services to review and make recommendations on policy issues as they pertain to repatriation and Aboriginal people
- education and awareness services to inform Native and non-Native populations of the history of the Sixties Scoop, and of the repatriation process
- counseling services for adult adoptee, foster children, birth families and adoptive families, including aftercare services
- "first stop shop" for Aboriginal people seeking information about repatriation
The proposed implementation strategy will take a phased approach, with each subsequent phase being developed based on the results of, and needs identified in, the previous phase. The initial phase will focus on gathering statistical information and additional first hand research to further refine the needs of this target population. Phases 2, 3 and 4 involve the actual implementation of various components of the Repatriation Program.
The four phases proposed are:
Phase 1: Data Gathering and the Initiation of Education and Awareness (via existing organizations)
- data gathering
- improve education and awareness of the repatriation issues and process
- investigate opportunities at Adoption Disclosure Registry for priority searches
- investigate the existing formal and informal repatriation system for additional opportunities
Phase 2: Develop a Repatriation Program: Focus on Education and Awareness
- seek a funding source(s)
- establish an organizational/administrative structure
- select staff
- develop and implement education and awareness programs and services
Phase 3: Expand the Repatriation Program to include Training for Aboriginal Organizations, plus Counseling Services
- counseling services for Adult Adoptee, ex-Crown Wards and Birth Families
- aftercare services
- training
Phase 4: Expand the Repatriation Program to Include Policy Analysis
Prepared by:
Native Child and Family Services of Toronto
Stevenato and Associates
Janet Budgell
March 1999
ABORIGINAL HEALING AND WELLNESS STRATEGY
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