Aboriginal Policy And Practice Framework In British Columbia
Aboriginal Policy and PracticeFramework in British Columbiaa pathway towards restorative policy and practicethat supports and honours aboriginal peoples’systems of caring, nurturing children and resiliency.
Aboriginal Policy and PracticeFramework in British Columbia“ The Tree represents Aboriginal families, First Nation and Aboriginalcommunities, Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD)and Delegated Aboriginal Agencies (DAAs), who provide safety, support, culture,structure, consistency and balance to those in need.With the freedom and ability to bridge worlds, the Eagle provides strength,courage and healing.The Water Waves represent challenging times that may arise. They also providenourishment to the living species of Mother Earth.The Whale represents the children as carriers of history. The positioningshowcases the Aboriginal children who have gained tools, passion for life,and have found their soul’s path. “Generously shared by the artist Jamin Zuroski of the Namgis First Nation.ABORIGINAL POLICY and PRAC TICE FRAMEWORK
Contents“ . strengthening relationships through sharing,collaborating and striving for common understanding.”EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .02INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .03ABORIGINAL POLICY and PRACTICE FRAMEWORK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .05OUR SHARED CONTEXT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .06OUR VALUES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10OUR FOUNDATIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12THE CIRCLE as a RESTORATIVE PROCESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Gathering the Circle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Listening, Assessing and Finding Solutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Creating Security, Belonging and Well-Being. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Keeping the Circle Strong. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21Aboriginal Policy and Practice Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22OUR COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23HISTORY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY of TERMS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26APPENDIX B: ABORIGINAL EQUITY and INCLUSION POLICY LENS. . . . . . . . . .30ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33ABORIGINAL POLICY and PRAC TICE FRAMEWORK1
Executive SummaryThe Aboriginal Policy and Practice Framework is an overarching frameworkintended to improve outcomes for Aboriginal children, youth, familiesand communities through restorative policies and practices. It appliesto policy and practice involving Aboriginal children, youth and familieson and off reserve regardless if they are being served by a DelegatedAboriginal Agency or the Ministry of Children and Family Development 1.Restorative policies and practices are culturally safe and traumainformed, supporting and honouring Aboriginal peoples’ cultural systemsof caring and resiliency. The framework’s model for restorative policyand practice is Child, Youth, Family and Community-Centred; CultureCentred; Inclusive, Collaborative and Accountable; and focused on Resilience,Wellness and Healing.The framework identifies the Circle process as a strength-based andholistic way to support policies and practices to be restorative. The Circleprocess ensures the right people are brought together to collectivelyplan, make decisions and commit to actions that ensure the well-beingof Aboriginal children, youth, families and communities. The Circleprocess applies to policies, practices and services that impact Aboriginalchildren, youth and families. Through inclusive collaborative approachesthat emphasize striving for common understanding and collectivedecision making, relationships will be strengthened.In this framework, the Circle process is represented by a seriesof interconnected circles: Gathering the Circle; Listening, Assessingand Finding Solutions; Creating Security, Belonging and Well-Being;and Keeping the Circle Strong.2 These circles centre on Aboriginal children,youth and families.The Aboriginal Policy and Practice Framework also recognizesthe restorative process of the Circle and the ability to bring key partners,service providers and practitioners together to effectively supportAboriginal children, youth and families. Utilizing the Circle process,the framework exemplifies a holistic approach that is grounded inthe distinct aspects of Aboriginal values and foundations to groundpolicy and practice improvements.Restorative policies and practices support and honour Aboriginalpeoples’ cultural systems of caring, wellness and resiliency atthe community, family and individual level. The framework providesa unique opportunity to develop and implement a service deliveryapproach based on Aboriginal cultures and traditions.122Inclusive of MCFD contracts with organizations providing services to Aboriginal children,youth and families.These interconnected elements are reflective of many aspects of the AOPSI Redesign,which is based upon extensive community consultations, and the guiding principles andservice delivery principles in the Child, Family, and Community Service Act.ABORIGINAL POLICY and PRAC TICE FRAMEWORK
Introductiona pathway towards restorative policy and practicethat supports and honours aboriginal peoples’ systemsof caring,systemsof nurturingcaring, nurturingchildrenchildrenand resiliency.and resiliency.The Aboriginal Policy and Practice Framework identifies a pathway towards restorative policyand practice that supports and honours Aboriginal peoples’ cultural systems of caringand resiliency. The framework applies to all policy 3 and practice involving Aboriginalchildren, youth and families in British Columbia, living on reserve or in urban communities,who receive services from a Delegated Aboriginal Agency (DAA) or the Ministry of Childrenand Family Development (MCFD) 4. The framework will impact practice and servicesdelivered to Aboriginal children/youth and families through MCFD contracted services.The framework applies to all of MCFD’s six service lines 5:}} Early Years;}} Children and Youth with Special Needs;}} Child and Youth Mental Health;}} Child Safety, Family Supportand Children in Care;}} Adoption; and}} Youth Justice345While it is not possible to identify the full scope of work undertaken by policy leads, this frameworkapplies to the development and revision of all common policy, service delivery specific policy,specialized cross-program policy, support services policy, and practice guidelines, practice directives,standards, service delivery plans, provincial level cross ministry policy initiatives, provincial levelprotocols, and MCFD contracts impacting Aboriginal children, youth and families to ensure directservice delivery supports and honour Aboriginal peoples’ cultural systems of caring and resiliency.Inclusive of MCFD contracts with organizations providing services to Aboriginal children, youth and families.These service lines are subject to change (current as of March 2015).ABORIGINAL POLICY and PRAC TICE FRAMEWORK3
The Aboriginal Policy and Practice Framework identifies the Circle process as a strength-basedand holistic way to support policies and practices to be restorative. Restorative policies andpractices are culturally safe and trauma-informed, supporting and honouring Aboriginalpeoples’ cultural systems of caring and resiliency.THE CIRCLE as a RESTORATIVE PROCESS: The Circle process, which is grounded in ourshared context, our values and our foundations, provides a pathway towards improvedoutcomes for Aboriginal children, youth, families and communities through restorativepolicy and practice. The Circle process brings people together to collectively plan,make decisions and commit to action that will ensure the well-being of Aboriginal children,youth, families and communities. The Circle process – with Aboriginal children, youth,families and communities at the centre – includes Gathering the Circle; Listening, Assessingand Finding Solutions; Creating Security, Belonging and Well-being; and Keeping the CircleStrong. If the Circle process is followed and grounded in all the framework’s components,it will lead to a model that is: Child, Youth, Family and Community-Centred; Culture-Centred;Culturally Safe; Inclusive, Collaborative and Accountable; and focused on Resiliency, Healingand Wellness.In order to support understanding and implementation of the Circle, the framework alsoincludes important components regarding our shared context, values, foundations andcollective responsibility:OUR SHARED CONTEXT: The context that we must understand, including the impactof colonial history and its ongoing influence on the present, to support responsiveaction to current and past realities.OUR VALUES: The values we uphold to support working together and to build an inclusivecommunity which supports positive outcomes for all children, youth and families.OUR FOUNDATIONS: Significant conceptual foundations, or the key educationalobjectives, that we must intimately understand to effectively champion the Circle process,and ensure policy and practice is restorative.OUR COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY: The collective responsibility and accountabilityfor improved outcomes for Aboriginal children, youth and families through restorativepolicy and practice.A pathway towards restorative policy 6 and practice undeniably requires a multigenerational journey towards reconciliation. It calls for continuous and conscious effortsby all peoples, organizations and governments to strengthen, revitalize and ensure equityand inclusion in all relationships and partnerships.64To further support implementation of the framework, policy leads may apply the Aboriginal Equity and InclusionPolicy Lens (see Appendix B).ABORIGINAL POLICY and PRAC TICE FRAMEWORK
Aboriginal Policy and Practice Framework“ It is with urgency that we are asked to understand our sharedcontext, embrace our values and our foundations, implementthe Circle process and go forward and share it with others.”IT IS OUR COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY towork together with an in-depth understandingof our shared context, values and foundationsto implement the Circle as a restorative processto support a model of policy and practice thatis Child, Youth, Family and Community-Centred;Culture-Centred; Inclusive, Collaborative andAccountable; and focused on Resiliency,Healing, and Wellness.ABORIGINAL POLICY and PRAC TICE FRAMEWORK5
Our Shared ContextAboriginal world views and values are embedded in stories and legends that pass on knowledgeand teaching from generation to generation. within stories and legends there are teachings that canbe found for each of us.the following excerpt is from a story shared by a sto:lo elder that helps us to listen and learn.what does this story mean to you?She put her hand on her chest and she said “[shxweli]* is inside us here.” She put her handin front of her and she said “[shxweli] is in your parents.” She raised her hand higher and said“then your grandparents, your great- grandparents, it is in your great-great-grandparents. It is in therocks, it’s in the trees, it’s in the grass, it’s in the ground. [Shxweli] is everywhere.”Be Of Good Mind, 2007 *Shxweli has been interpreted to mean ‘spirit.’This framework identifies a pathway towards improved outcomes for Aboriginal children,youth and families through restorative policy and practice. It does this by providing anAboriginal specific model for policy and practice based upon shared values, foundationsand processes. This model shapes and enriches the way we work with Aboriginal childrenand families.Embarking on a pathway towards restorative policy and practice is impossible withoutunderstanding the shared history of colonization and the attempted destructionof Aboriginal cultures. This history continues to intergenerationally impact the lives ofAboriginal children, youth, family and communities today and continues to contributeto a climate of mistrust and divisiveness.For centuries, Aboriginal peoples practiced their own dynamic systems and modelsof caring for and nurturing their children. These systems were connected to the valuesof each Nation; expressed in a variety of ways and based on unique world views, distinctcultures and traditions. Aboriginal peoples were also self-determining and self-sufficient,with traditional governing systems and structures.Since contact, Aboriginal peoples have experienced the impact of colonial institutions,systems and world views. Colonization resulted in health and economic disparities,racial discrimination, loss of emotional security and family connections, and many othercomplex and negative effects associated with assimilation and cultural devastation.Aboriginal peoples have been subject to the loss of land and languages and disruptionsto spiritual and traditional governing systems. Aboriginal peoples continue to experiencedisproportional levels of unemployment and poverty, sub-standard housing and sanitation,social exclusion and culturally unsafe 7, inaccessible, inequitable and/or non-existent levels76Culturally unsafe services may be considered to “diminish, demean or disempower the cultural identity and well-beingof an individual” (Nursing Council of New Zealand 2002, p. 9).ABORIGINAL POLICY and PRAC TICE FRAMEWORK
of services. Policies and practices of assimilation and other coloniallegacies have also led to trauma which touches the lives of manygenerations in areas such as high rates of children in care, suicide,domestic violence, alcoholism and substance use. This ‘history of loss’has had dramatic and destructive impacts on children, youth, familiesand communities, as well as on Aboriginal peoples’ cultural systemsof caring.In particular, the effects of residential schools and the ‘Sixties Scoop’ havehad devastating impacts on Aboriginal peoples’ cultural systems of care.Residential schools segregated Aboriginal children from their families,with the explicit objective of assimilating and indoctrinating them intoEuro-Canadian and Christian worldviews.8 The ‘Sixties Scoop’ describesthe mass removal of Aboriginal children from their families, communitiesand culture, into the child welfare system in the 1960s. These Aboriginalchildren were taken from their homes, frequently without the consentof their families or communities. The ‘Sixties Scoop’ led to an acceleratedand drastic over-representation of Aboriginal children in governmentcare – a trend that continues today.Current statistics in British Columbia reveal the distinct situationof Aboriginal children, youth and families and the challenges they face.The Aboriginal population overall is younger than the non-Aboriginalpopulation – Aboriginal children and youth make up over 9% of thetotal population of children and youth.9 The median age of First Nationspeoples (28) and Métis peoples (32) is much younger than thatof the non-Aboriginal population (42).10 Within the province of BritishColumbia, Aboriginal youth represent the fastest growing demographic.In September 2015, there were 8,164 children and youth in care inBritish Columbia, and 4,399 (61%) of those were identified as Aboriginal.Approximately half (2,049) of the Aboriginal children and youthin care were served by a Delegated Aboriginal Agency, with theother Aboriginal children and youth in care served by MCFD.These and additional statistics reflect a collective responsibility sharedby all practitioners and policy leads to support better outcomes forAboriginal children, youth and families.WHY IS B.C. UNIQUE?B.C. is home to the secondlargest population of Aboriginalpeoples in Canada, with distinctand diverse cultures, values andlanguages, including 34 distinctlanguages making up 60% of theFirst Nations languages in Canada.Within B.C., there are over 129,000First Nations peoples, with morethan 200 distinct First Nationsbands (that’s one-third of all FirstNations in Canada), more than59,000 Métis people and nearly800 Inuit peoples. As well, morethan 50% of this Aboriginalpopulation lives in urban centres.In B.C., the Federal and ProvincialGovernments and First Nationsshare responsibility for providingboth health and social services8910“Two primary objectives of the residential school system were to remove and isolate childrenfrom the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate theminto the dominant culture. These objectives were based on the assumption Aboriginal culturesand spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said,‘to kill the Indian in the child.’ Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong,has caused great harm, and has no place in our country.” (Prime Minister of Canada, officialapology, June 11, 2008)Statistics Canada, National Household Survey, 2011, Aboriginal Peoples in Canada:First Nations People, Métis and Inuit.Ibid.on reserve and, in the absenceof federal policies, provincialpolicies apply.ABORIGINAL POLICY and PRAC TICE FRAMEWORK7
This framework is a response to these current and past realities,which are the distinct and unique history and context of Aboriginalchildren, youth, families and communities across British Columbia.It recognizes that while Aboriginal peoples have faced many challenges,they have also demonstrated immense resiliency and unique strengths,and many are actively restoring and revitalizing their languagesand cultural systems of caring for their children. The framework alsorecognizes that achieving well-being for Aboriginal children, youthand families means that practices and policies must be culturally safe,trauma-informed and inclusive of Aboriginal cultures, world views,knowledge and values.WHAT CAN I DO?TO SUPPORT ABORIGINALCHILDREN, YOUTH, FAMILIESand COMMUNITIES in aRESPECTFUL, RESPONSIVEand CONSISTENT MANNER?Acquire the lived experiencesnecessary to learn the skills,attitudes and knowledge towork effectively with Aboriginalpeoples in a respectful andresponsive way. This is a lifelongjourney that requires dedicationand consistency. For example,this could mean policy leadsThis framework is grounded in community input,11 recognized research,national and international law, and provincial commitments:}} Aboriginal peoples in British Columbia have unique world views,distinct cultures, values and ways of life, and a range of traditions andpractices that are fundamental to supporting the well-being of theirchildren and families. Research, evidence and learning demonstratethat when Aboriginal cultures, values and world views inform andshape culturally safe child, youth and family practice, outcomesare improved.12}} Section 3513 of The Constitution Act, 1982 and the United NationsDeclaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples14 recognizes andaffirms particular Aboriginal rights. Section 15 of the Canadian Charterof Rights and Freedoms confirms equality before and under the lawand equal benefit without discrimination. As well, children and youthhave rights that are recognized and pro
of Aboriginal children, youth, families and communities. The Circle process applies to policies, practices and services that impact Aboriginal children, youth and families. Through inclusive collaborative approaches that emphasize striving for common understanding and collective decision making, relationships will be strengthened.
Aboriginal / Aboriginal Peoples – ‘Aboriginal’ is a general term used in the Canada Constitution (1982) to describe the Inuit, Métis Nation and First Nations and as such is still used in some official government documents but is falling out of use. Aboriginal Peoples is more acceptable than Aboriginal.
This Aboriginal Health Plan 2018–2022 builds on the successes of the former Sydney South West Area Health Service Aboriginal Health Plan 2010–2014, and aligns with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013–2023, NSW Aboriginal Health Plan 2013–2023, and the Sydney Local Health District Strategic Plan.
ABORIGINAL HAND PRINT The Aboriginal flag is very important to Aboriginal people all over Australia. It has been flown since the 1960s. When looking at the Aboriginal flag, there are three colours. The top half is black and represents Aboriginal people from all over Australia. The bottom half is red and represents the land “Our Mother .
Aboriginal women and reducing rates of potentially preventable hospitalisations among Aboriginal people. More broadly, it emphasises the impact that system-wide quality improvement efforts can have on Aboriginal people's health. Patient Perspectives: Hospital care for Aboriginal people does not consider the question of whether the gap is closing.
PAGE 4 NSW Health Decision Making Framework for Aboriginal Health Practitioners This framework will enable NSW Health organisations to make local decisions regarding Aboriginal Health Practitioners undertaking clinical activities. It will help to address the fact that Aboriginal Health Practitioners currently have a variety of
Aboriginal rights include Aboriginal language rights. i. The preservation, revitalization, and strengthening of Aboriginal languages and cultures are best managed by Aboriginal people and communities.(Indigenous-led language revitalization is happening in land-based education programs across Canada) 62.
marriage, children, work, travel, wages, housing and land, and access to health care and education. . Tasmania Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre 1994 Western Australia Yorganop Child Care Aboriginal Corp 1992-93 . and add a place name, or in the print version look under 'Aboriginal and Torres .
The Aboriginal Small Grants Project aims to enlighten and raise the awareness of what Aboriginal cultural inclusion work is, and the benefits and effects it will have in the future. It also helps to foster a sense of pride and belonging that is a fundamental not only to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children but for all children.
