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WOW!!! THREE MILLION VISITORS!
Families
and victims advocates participate in a prayer walk around the Indian
Pueblo Cultural Center to mark Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons
Day in Albuquerque, N.M., on May 5, 2024. Susan Montoya Bryan | AP
The
FBI is sending extra agents, analysts and other personnel to field
offices in 10 states over the next six months to help investigate
unsolved violent crimes in Indian Country, marking a continuation of
efforts by the federal government to address high rates of violence
affecting Native American communities.
The U.S. Justice Department
announced Tuesday that the temporary duty assignments began immediately
and will rotate every 90 days in field offices that include
Albuquerque, Phoenix, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City,
Seattle, Salt Lake City, Portland, Oregon, and Jackson, Mississippi.
Faded
red dresses representing missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls,
and gender diverse people hang on the fence of the Brady Road Landfill.
Photo by Crystal Greene
Jim Oskineegish, “The Power of
Soul - Jimi Hendrix,” 2010, acrylic on canvas, 60" x 48" (courtesy of
the Ahnisnabae Art Gallery)
Keep Yourself Alive is the debut exhibition by Jim
Oskineegish, a second-generation Woodland artist from Eabametoong First
Nation (Fort Hope). Curated by Caitlyn Bird, Jim’s paintings fuse
personal stories with Woodland, Surrealism, and Pop Art. This exhibition
of thirteen portraits is a love letter to his heroes.
In 2010, after a major surgery and a long recovery, Jim experienced
painful memories from his childhood, specifically the abuse and trauma
he endured as a Sixties Scoop survivor. In his My Hero Series, he
portrays his childhood heroes including 1980s rock stars like Jimi
Hendrix and Freddie Mercury and movie stars such as Bruce Lee and Chief
Dan George. His portraits also pay homage to family and friends, like
his late brother, Robert Kowalow. For Jim, these heroes have qualities
of strength and bravery and provided comfort and inspiration for keeping
yourself alive.
Jim Oskineegish is an Ojibway artist who is a registered member of
the Eabametoong First Nation which is located in Northern Ontario,
Canada. Jim paints in the Woodland Style using bold lines and bright
colors. He loves to paint legends and stories of his people and hopes
that his art can bridge a universal understanding of love, faith, and
unity.
Jim has post-secondary instruction in the field of visual arts and
has further developed his own unique and distinctive style. If Jim can
evoke a response or emotion from the viewer, then he feels that he is
successful in the world of contemporary art. While in attendance at
Lakehead University, he was awarded the Framing Experience Award during
the Lakehead University Juried Student Art Exhibition in 1990-1992.
Subsequently, he then was awarded the Thunder Bay Society of Architects
Award during the Lakehead University Juried Student Art Exhibition in
1991-1992. Keep Yourself Alive is his first solo exhibition.
Organized and circulated by the Thunder Bay Art Gallery
BISMARCK
— With the passage this week of a budget bill amendment that would
allocate funding to specialized courts throughout the state, the
Northeast Judicial District is one step closer to establishing an Indian
Child Welfare Act Court in North Dakota.
The
$125,292 allocation was previously removed from SB 2002, but after
being asked to reconsider, the Education and Environment Division of
House Appropriations added it back into the budget during a Tuesday
committee hearing.
"If
this is implemented, we would be the first ICWA Court in North Dakota —
really addressing those unique needs of Native American families and
upholding the intent of the law, which is to preserve those cultural
connections and family unity whenever possible," said Heather Traynor,
who works for the North Dakota Supreme Court's court improvement
program. She testified in favor of the funding allocation.
Though
they make up approximately 6% of the state's population, Indigenous
youth account for 26% of its foster care population, Traynor said. There
have been many efforts throughout the last 15 years to determine how
this disproportionate rate can be reduced.
Traynor, and others, believe ICWA court could be an answer.
The
ICWA, a federal law established in the 1970s, was a response to the
"unwarranted removal of Indian children from their families and tribal
communities in alarming numbers," according to the ICWA Law Center, an
Indigenous legal services nonprofit organization.
Highlights
of the act include recognizing tribal sovereignty, preserving
Indigenous families and recognizing tribal and familial connections.
It
requires higher levels of engagement to keep families together and, if
that is not possible, to keep them within or otherwise connected to
their communities, Traynor said.
The act describes placement preferences for Indigenous children as the following, in order of preference:
A member of the child's extended family;
an Indigenous foster home licensed, approved or specified by the child's tribe;
an Indigenous foster home licensed or approved by an authorized non-Indigenous licensing authority; or
an
institution for children that is approved by a tribe, or operated by an
Indigenous organization, and has a program suitable for the child's
needs.
The
ICWA does not apply to all Indigenous youth. Rather, it applies to
those who either are enrolled with a tribe or are eligible for
enrollment, Traynor said.
"With
ICWA, we look to protect the best interests of Native American
children, and prevent unnecessary removal," she said. "That's why it was
put into place. But it's important that we focus on these efforts once
they are removed, so that they can maintain that cultural connection
with their Native American families and communities."
Across
the 23 states that have established their own ICWA courts as an
intervention tool, the goal of timely permanency has been found to be
more attainable, Traynor said.
Permanency
is a living situation that is permanent and stable, and ideally
preserves existing familial connections, according to the Child Welfare
website, an official website of the Children's Bureau and Child Welfare
Information Gateway.
Benefits
of an ICWA court would include the opportunity for a more family-based
approach with earlier intervention and consistency in scheduling that
would allow for a tribal presence at hearings, Traynor said.
Margie
Sterling points out her display of Navajo rugs, made from Churro wool
from Navajo-Churro sheep, known for their coarse wool, which is
well-suited for rug and blanket- weaving. Sheila
Harris/sheilaharrisads@gmail.com
Local resident recounts adoption from Navajo Tribe, reconnecting with roots
BY SHEILA HARRIS sheilaharrisads@gmail.com
“Sometimes I feel like a fake Indian,” said Margie Sterling, of rural Exeter.
A member of the Navajo Nation, Margie was adopted by a caucasian
couple in June of 1958, just shy of her 5th birthday. She believes she
is one of the first children who was allowed to be adopted from the
tribe.
“Navajoland,” the nation’s reservation, encompasses over 27,000
square miles of land across portions of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. With over 400,000 tribal members, the Navajo Nation is the largest of
574 federally-recognized indigenous tribes in the U.S., achieving that
status in 2020, after surpassing the membership of the Cherokee Nation.
At 70, Margie still has difficulty believing the story of her adoption, one she learned of only 20 years ago.
She remembers, as a child, how excited she was when making the trip
from a foster home in Albuquerque, N.M., to the Stones Prairie
community, west of Purdy, to live with her adoptive parents, Edgar “Red”
and Virginia Sterling. The Sterlings did not disappoint.
Virginia and her mother had a room prepared, one decked in
pink-and-white gingham, with furniture painted a pearly pink: a
fairy-tale world for 4-year-old Margie.
When the Sterlings discovered they were unable to have children of
their own, they began checking into the possibility of adoption in early
1957. Because Virginia’s father was of Native American descent, she set
her heart on adopting a Navajo girl, and wrote a letter of inquiry
about the possibility to the Navaho (or “Navajo”) Mission in St.
Michaels, Ariz.
Margie Sterling, back left, stands with her daughter, Theresa Schafer,
in Sterling’s prized five-generation photo. At front left is Sterling’s
birth mother, Margaret Lopez, seated next to Sterling’s granddaughter,
Jamie Lynn Stokes, who is holding Sterling’s great-granddaughter,
Maddison. Contributed photo
Officials, including California’s attorney general, question what will happen to the data collected by the firm.
Published 24 Mar 2025
Genetic
testing firm 23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in
the United States amid weak demand and losses from a 2023 data breach.
Its co-founder and CEO has resigned.
San Francisco-based 23andMe announced on Sunday that it will look to
sell “substantially all of its assets” through a court-approved
reorganisation plan.
The company’s shares fell 50 percent to 88 cents in Monday trading
after co-founder Anne Wojcicki, who made multiple failed takeover bids,
resigned as CEO. 23andMe did not say whether there are other interested
bidders. It will continue to operate during the sale process, having
secured $35m in financing over the weekend.
Wojcicki intends to still bid on 23andMe as the company pursues a sale through the bankruptcy process. In a statement on social media, Wojcicki said she resigned as CEO to be “in the best position” as an independent bidder.
“There is no doubt that the challenges faced by 23andMe through an
evolving business model have been real, but my belief in the company and
its future is unwavering,” she later added.
Officials, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta, have
questioned what would happen to the genetic data collected by 23andMe
although the company’s privacy policies say the data could be sold to
other firms. The company said the bankruptcy process will not affect how
it stores, manages or protects customer data.
23andMe garnered lots of attention from investors when it was first
taken public via a special-purpose acquisition vehicle (SPAC) run by
billionaire Richard Branson at a $3.5bn valuation in 2021. Its market
value peaked later that year at nearly $6bn due to booming interest in
DNA testing kits, but demand has waned since, hurting 23andMe and its
Blackstone-owned rival, AncestryDNA.
Sales of the consumer kits frequently picked up during the yearend
holidays, but 23andMe has struggled to retain customers mainly because
people would use the kits once and see little reason to order another
one. Bernstein Research analysts said the market for ancestry testing
kits might be close to tapped out.
In 2023, hackers exposed the personal data of nearly seven million
23andMe customers over a five-month period, dealing a major blow to the
company’s reputation and compounding its growth problems. The breach
raised alarm among customers concerned about their privacy and how
DNA-testing firms handle their data.
23andMe eventually agreed late last year to a $30m settlement in a lawsuit related to the breach.
Founded on a promise
23andMe was founded in 2006 with a promise to revolutionise the
future of genetics and healthcare. The company became known for its
saliva-based DNA testing kits, purchased by millions of customers eager
to learn more about their ancestry, and later dived further into health
research and drug development.
But recent years have been far from smooth sailing for it. And Sunday’s voluntary bankruptcy filing caps months of turmoil.
In September, all of its independent directors resigned in a rare move after acquisition negotiations with Wojcicki.
The company then announced in November that it would lay off 40
percent of its workforce, or more than 200 employees, and discontinue
its therapeutics division. And in January, the board’s special committee
said it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible
sale.
Beyond the data breach, uncertainty about the company’s future
overall has also led some to recently urge 23andMe customers to delete
their data.
On Friday, days before 23andMe’s bankruptcy filing, Bonta issued an urgent alert
reminding 23andMe customers of their legal rights under state law and
called on them to consider deleting and destroying any genetic data held
by the company. Bonta’s office pointed to 23andMe’s ongoing financial
distress and “trove of sensitive consumer data” the company has amassed.
After Ancestry caught wind of its users' data concerns,
a company spokesperson stated that Blackstone would not have access to
genetic or family tree information provided by users. According to CBS
News, the company has no plans to change its data storage or access
rules.
(posted on lost daughters blog on 2012 and on this blog in 2014) (i want to share again in 2025, edited a little)
REBLOG By Trace Hentz (author-blogger)
Someone asked me what had adoption cost me personally. What a loaded question,
I shot back in my email. I said I needed to think about it.
Obviously, first of all, I didn't ask
to be adopted!
This situation was
thrust on me by a damaged 22-year-old small-town Wisconsin girl who loved Chicago-clubbing and partying too much. She didn't want me after
my 28-year-old father (also a big drinker) kicked her out. He moved back to his
Illinois farm-town and found a new wife. She went to an unwed mothers home in
Minnesota and signed me away to Catholic Charities. (Both had new kids right away.) (She kept two daughters.)
If my soul wanted a big
test this lifetime, this was clearly the route to take. I am not miserable knowing the truth, not at all. I am better knowing the truth. Finding out neither
parent would ever look for me? That discovery cost me.
Who would tell a woman she cannot keep her
own baby? Who made them think this way? Belief systems, religions, social
workers, neighbors, parents, judges, priests? Even your own family can be so
damaged, it's risky to find them. There were times I wished I had never looked
but I had to know why I was abandoned, handed off. Taking those risks to find out the truth cost me
years but I am not sorry.
Being told by my natural
mother to never contact her again? That rejection cost me about two years and added grief since I'd have to contact her again for my fathers name. (No one told me this was somewhat common to be rejected again.)
I made all the moves,
made all the calls, did all the travel and took all the risks to find both
my birthparents. I put myself out there to join a family who didn't even know I existed
or cared that I did. That cost me. The fact is they do not understand what I went through and didn't bother to ask, this cost me and confused me. But I do know people focus on their own pain. No one really cared about mine.
The adoption trade in
babies was booming in the 1950s. In my opinion my adoptive parents were
not carefully screened. Despite his raging alcoholism and their marital
discord after two miscarriages, Catholic social workers still qualified them to
be my parents. Very young I was sexually molested by my adoptive dad. That
betrayal cost me.
I had to pretend for
years I was alright when really I wasn't. I tried to live up to their
expectations and be the baby they lost. That impossible situation cost me.
My adoptive parents
didn't know adopting kids won't fix a marriage and could even make it
worse! I had to suppress my shock and disappointment in them for too long. It took me years to find and get therapy and counseling that worked. This
delay cost me.
My lack of trust and
being able to love someone cost me a marriage.
Many years later I learn my ancestry. My father, who had the Native blood, didn't
intervene to keep me. How did that make me feel? Betrayed. I had no idea what to
think about being "part-Indian" since there was no one in my dad's family to reconnect me to my
tribal culture. That cost me. (Since 2024, I found even more Indigenous ancestry with the help of my niece Tracy on my dad's side.)
How can you measure
cultural loss when there is no dollar amount or apology that can undo what
happened? There is no easy way to get that back. Those years are lost and cannot be returned.
What did adoption cost
me? Everything.
What did adoption give
me? Strength! And the determination to urge others to seek adoption reform and end all closed adoptions permanently.
My birthmother Helen Thrall died in 2007. She had diabetes. This story ran in a Florida newspaper. I am nothing like her. And I hate football!
Chief
Robert Head of Peter Chapman Band, which is part of James Smith Cree
Nation, said the money will be used for trusts, payments to members and
infrastructure. (CBC News)
The
federal government is compensating more than a dozen Saskatchewan First
Nations for agricultural benefits promised in treaties signed long ago,
but never provided.
It has also reached a separate agreement with Cumberland House Cree Nation on a land claim.
Federal
Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Gary
Anandasangaree said at a news conference Friday that the 14 First
Nations involved in the agricultural settlement will get a combined
$1.72 billion.
"We have an opportunity today as a
country and as a people to make sure that we reset the relationship for
the next generation," Anandasangaree said.
These are the latest examples of what's known as cows-and-plows settlements.
The
treaties made promises including hand tools such as spades, scythes and
axes, as well as bigger equipment like plows, harrows and pit saws, to
be shared among families. Many of these promises were never fulfilled.
"We're
currently building our nation basically from the ground up, because we
have long been denied our benefits under treaty," Chief Robert Head of
Peter Chapman Band, which is part of James Smith Cree Nation, said.
Head's
First Nation will receive about $46 million. He said that the money
will be used for trusts, payments to members and infrastructure.
"We
weren't allowed to leave the reserves unless we had a permit or a pass.
We weren't allowed to sell, you know, the produce that we grew on our
reserves," Head said.
"Residential schools, the Sixties
Scoop and, you know, all the other policies … all point to genocidal
policies of the Canadian government."
Head said that the compensation is justice that was long overdue, since the treaties were signed over 150 years ago.
Tanya
Aguilar-Antiman Chief of Mosquito-Grizzly Bear’s Head-Lean Man First
Nation said some of the money will be put in a trust for children under
18 so that when they turn 18 they get a good head start. (CBC News)
Tanya
Aguilar-Antiman Chief of Mosquito-Grizzly Bear's Head-Lean Man First
Nation said that the settlement is an action-based example of
reconciliation.
"We've committed some resources to our
language, and economic development is a big thing in our community right
now," Aguilar-Antiman said.
Her First Nation will be
getting around $114 million. She said some of the money will be put in
trust for children under 18, so that when they turn 18 they get a good
head start.
The First Nations being compensated include:
Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation.
James Smith Cree Nation #370.
Little Black Bear First Nation.
Ministikwan Lake Cree Nation.
Moosomin First Nation.
Mosquito-Grizzly Bear's Head-Lean Man First Nation.
Pasqua First Nation.
Piapot First Nation.
Pelican Lake First Nation.
Poundmaker Cree Nation.
Saulteaux First Nation.
Sweetgrass First Nation.
Waterhen Lake First Nation.
Witchekan Lake First Nation.
Sask. First Nation agrees to $152M agricultural settlement with Ottawa
Sturgeon Lake First Nation to distribute $30K of settlement to each of 3,250 members
Chief
Christine Longjohn, centre, and the Sturgeon Lake First Nation council
have announced that community members voted to accept a $152-million
settlement agreement with the federal government. (Submitted by Christine Longjohn)
Sturgeon Lake First
Nation says community members have voted in favour of a $152-million
settlement over the federal government's reneged agricultural promises
as outlined in Treaty 6.
It is among several settlements referred
to as "cows and plows" agreements between Saskatchewan First Nation
communities and the federal government over the failure to fulfil treaty
promises to provide agricultural assistance and tools.
According
to a news release from the community, issued Wednesday, Canada did not
deliver promised agricultural tools, seeds and livestock that "were
crucial for the community's economic development and self-sufficiency."
"We
haven't been able to do a lot of things within our community … because
we haven't had the funding for that," Sturgeon Lake Chief Christine
Longjohn said Thursday.
"So this is a huge step and it promises a brighter future, you know, for the generation now, but also the generations ahead."
CBC Indigenous reporter Jennifer Francis simplifies what you need to know about this settlement.
Plus, she debunks the myth that cows and plows eliminates your treaty rights.
The Cree community, located about 146 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, has about 3,250 members.
Longjohn
said each registered member alive on the date of the ratification vote,
which ran from July 22 to July 26, will receive $30,000 of the total
settlement. Funds for minors will go into a trust until they are 18.
Of
the remainder, $36 million is being put into a legacy trust fund, $12
million into a community development fund and the rest toward
ratification costs, loan payment, legal fees and the legacy account, she
said.
"With the legacy fund, that is going to ensure there is
always funds available for the community for generations to come,"
Longjohn said.
A news release from the community said 51 per cent of eligible members voted, with 88 per cent voting in favour.
Now
that the ratification vote is complete, Longjohn said the First Nation
council can sign the agreement, which will then go to Minister of
Crown-Indigenous Relations Gary Anandasangaree to sign on behalf of
Canada.
The process of signing the agreement and delivering the
money is expected to take about six months, according to the First
Nation. The federal government said the compensation will be paid within
45 days of the agreement being signed.
According to data from the
federal government website, more than $729 million has been paid to
Saskatchewan First Nation communities in similar settlements, including
certain situations where the government did not provide
promised ammunition and twine.
In an email, Crown-Indigenous
Relations and Northern Affairs Canada spokesperson Ryan Tyndall said
each settlement is negotiated separately and considers several factors.
"We
are very pleased that the First Nation's membership has approved the
proposed settlement, which will help to renew our relationship with and
advance reconciliation with the First Nation," the email said.
"The
Government of Canada has no involvement in how a First Nation uses
settlement monies. First Nations can use their settlements to invest in
community priorities and initiatives as they see fit."
Jay
Mitchell by the Yukon River in Whitehorse. Mitchell has spent most of
his life in Alberta and Ontario and believed he was Métis — until a DNA
test helped him find his true biological family in the Yukon, and
prompted him to pick up and move to the North. (Cali McTavish/CBC)
Having
spent his whole life in bigger cities, Jay Mitchell says he's still
getting used to the pace of life in the relatively small town of
Whitehorse.
"It's a shock. I'm so used to city life," said Mitchell.
He's
also getting used to meeting new members of his extended biological
family. He says people often come up to him on the street in Whitehorse
and tell him, "you're my cousin," "you're my second cousin," or "you're
my nephew."
Mitchell moved to the Yukon last May after discovering
errors in his Sixties Scoop adoption papers and then learning the truth
about his ancestry. He spent most of his life believing he was Métis,
only to have a DNA test reveal that both of his biological parents were
from Yukon First Nations.
Mitchell says he misses his wife and son
back home in Oshawa, Ont., but he says they'll join him soon. He's
grateful to the Kwanlin Dün First Nation in Whitehorse for embracing him
and giving him a job, and a place to live, while he waits for his
family. He is now a citizen of Kwanlin Dün, and works as a records
keeper for the First Nation.
Mitchell's family's move to the
North is about building connections with his biological family,
and finding support for Mitchell's 17-year-old son Nicholas who has
autism.
A photo of a younger Mitchell with his wife Lisa Hughes and their son, Nicholas Hughes Mitchell who is now 17 years old. (Submitted by Jay Mitchell)
"We're
doing this for my son," says Mitchell, "to make sure that, you know,
there's family to take care of him, if anything happens to us."
A case of mistaken identity
Mitchell,
57, was born in Edmonton and raised there by his adoptive family before
they moved to Oshawa. He was 10 years old when his mother told him he
had been adopted. He says it was a shock.
"I had no idea," said Mitchell.
His
mother also then showed him his birth certificate which said
Mitchell was Métis. That set him on a path to discover his cultural
roots.
"I went to Métis celebrations, and I met the Ontario Métis chief in Oshawa," he recalled.
When
he was in his 50s, a health issue prompted a doctor
to encourage Mitchell to try to learn about his biological family's
medical history. That led to another surprise for Mitchell, when a DNA
test and an ancestry research service revealed that he was not in
fact Métis.
He learned that his biological family were Yukon First
Nations members. He soon connected with his biological half-brother
Jeffrey Kalles in Whitehorse, and eventually his two half-sisters as
well.
Jay Mitchell, centre, with his adoptive mother Barb Mitchell, and his son Nicholas Hughes Mitchell. (Submitted by Jay Mitchell)
Kalles describes the first time he talked on the phone with Mitchell.
"Hearing that voice, and just really realizing that's [my] big brother — it's surreal," Kalles recalled.
It was also surreal for Mitchell to learn about his biological family.
"The
funny thing is that with my adopted family, I'm the baby of all the
siblings — and in my biological family, I'm the oldest. It's kind of
weird how that works," said Mitchell.
Kwanlin
Dün First Nation members welcome Mitchell to Whitehorse last year.
Mitchell is standing at the back with a ball cap and red vest on. (Submitted by Jay Mitchell)
Putting the pieces together
Through
a Freedom of Information request, Mitchell was able to get his adoption
records from the Alberta government and confirm the identities of his
biological parents as Yukon First Nations.
"I don't understand
why they didn't put me as First Nations. It's kind of puzzling, but a
lot of people say that things were different back then, in the '60s,"
said Mitchell.
The Sixties Scoop refers to the practice from the
1950s to the 1980s of removing First Nations and Inuit children from
their families and communities and placing them in foster care or
adopting them out to non-Indigenous families. According to Sixties Scoop class action lawsuit settlement website, many claimants described being cut off from their culture and language.
Mitchell
says when he learned about the class action lawsuit he was told he
didn't qualify because of his Métis status. By the time he found out the
truth about his Indigenous ancestry, the deadline to join the claim had
passed.
'A lot of people were shocked ... that I existed'
After
moving to Whitehorse and reuniting with biological family, Mitchell
learned there were two people he would not be able to meet: his
biological parents. Dennis Ladue and Joyce Jonathan had both died a few
years earlier.
"A lot of people were shocked about who I was, and that I existed," says Mitchell.
Duran Henry is one of Mitchell's cousins. He thinks Ladue would have loved to meet Mitchell.
Mitchell, left, with his cousin Duran Henry. (Submitted by Jay Mitchell)
"I think he would have been surprised, and then just overwhelmed by joy and love," says Henry.
He says sometimes Mitchell reminds him of Ladue.
"The way he laughs and, you know, the way we joke around — he's just a happy guy, and [Ladue] was like that."
Kalles was
also adopted and also never met Joyce Jonathan, his biological mother.
But he says their parents live on through the siblings.
Jay Mitchell's biological parents Dennis Ladue and Joyce Jonathan who both died before Mitchell had a chance to meet them. (Submitted by Jay Mitchell)
"There
are these idiosyncrasies — we didn't grow up together, but the way we
talk and the way he looks around and stuff like that. I guess, when I
talk to him and look at him, I just know, that's my brother,"
said Kalles.
Mitchell says he can't wait for his family to join him in Whitehorse this summer.
"Every day I miss my wife and son. My son and I do everything together," he said.
Kalles says he's also excited to meet more of his extended family.
"I'm going to retire here shortly, so I'll have a lot of time to hopefully show them around the Yukon," said Kalles.
Starting March 10, Indigenous people who went through Canada’s child welfare
system can apply for compensation for harms caused to them.
Approximately 300,000 Indigenous children and
families who went through Canada’s child welfare system can apply for
compensation for harms the system caused them.
The Canadian press
reports that $23 billion in payouts under a historic class-action
settlement will take six to 12 months to process. Those taken as
children between 1991 and 2022 from “reserves” and the northwestern
territory of Yukon are eligible to submit claims, as are their
caregiving parents and grandparents.
The Assembly of First Nations is helping citizens apply through its Get Ready campaign, announced in a press release
earlier. The national advocacy organization for Indigenous
communities across Canada will educate and guide First Nations claimants
to avoid scams and receive the assistance they need during the
application and claims processing period.
“While no amount of money can make up for the harms done by Canada’s
racist child welfare system, March 10 will be a historic turning point
to address these past wrongs,” National Chief Woodhouse Nepinak stated.
“The $23 billion compensation settlement is an important recognition of
the heroic representative plaintiffs and everyone who took part in the
long process of negotiations that brought us to this point.”
The pending payouts stem from a 2007 class-action lawsuit over the
discriminatory treatment of First Nations children and families. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal,
an independent administrative body that hears complaints about
discrimination, ruled on the matter in 2016. That ruling declared that
families in Yukon and in reserves — the equivalent of a reservation in
the U.S. — did not receive the same level of child and family services
provided to other Canadians.
Yet as the claims process moves forward, a far larger and more
systemic reform sought on behalf of Indigenous children and families
remains stalled.
A $47.8 billion payment to the First Nations Child and Family Services Program was initially approved last year, following an agreement between First Nations leaders and the Canadian government. The funding package designed to address the overrepresentation
of First Nations children in Canada’s child welfare system would have
covered a range of services to prevent child neglect and abuse and
improve outcomes for young adults leaving the system. The agreement
would have secured funding for 10 years, and addressed particularly high
costs to deliver services in rural communities.
But in October,
before the terms were finalized, First Nations leaders voted down the
$47.8 billion settlement offer, amid complaints that it lacked
transparency and accountability, among other concerns.
Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and
Family Caring Society which has been a party to the case for years, said
the deal reached last year would have been too “secretive” and
unreliable. Indigenous leaders “want to make sure the money is secure,
and stops the discrimination now and forever,” Blackstock said.
Some Indigenous leaders are now seeking to renegotiate the deal, although there is an ongoing dispute over whether parties such as the Caring Society should be involved.
Meanwhile, national politics in Canada may have introduced an additional unknown.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — whose government presided over last
year’s settlement agreement with First Nations that has since been
rejected — has resigned, causing concerns over whether a new
conservative government would honor future agreements.
In December, the Assembly of First Nations revealed the results of a
legal review it commissioned, warning that the $47.8 billion reform deal
could be upended by a future government.
That worries Danielle Cranmer, citizen of the Acjachemen Nation and a
clinical therapist and licensed social worker. She has been closely
watching the child welfare lawsuits in Canada since many of her clients
are from First Nations families.
“The Assembly of First Nations and other Indigenous governance bodies
have every reason to scrutinize the potential ramifications of a
government change,” Cranmer said. “If the current administration loses
power, a new government could claim they are not bound by this
agreement, further delaying or dismantling crucial child welfare
reforms.”
Cranmer said ensuring long-term commitments to reforms are essential
to addressing harms of the past and helping First Nations people heal.
She’ll continue monitoring how the current case unfolds, in light of
historic patterns. “This underscores the precarious nature of agreements
made between Indigenous nations and settler governments — particularly
when they hinge on political administrations that may not honor past
commitments,” Cranmer said.
Blackstock, who is Gitksan First Nation and has decades of social work experience, agreed.
“That’s why it was so important to protect against a change of
government by having these legal orders, instead of moving over to this
final settlement agreement that didn’t hold Canada accountable and gave
them such wide discretion,” she said. “Under an adverse government, that
would put at risk a lot of the gains we’ve made for First Nations’
kids.”
Can anything be said with certainty about what lies ahead?
“The short answer is, we don’t know,” Blackstock said. “But what we
do know is that the legal orders are binding on whatever political party
is in the government.”
For more information on all classes under the settlement, visit www.fnchildclaims.ca.
Published on Sep 28, 2013 This 40-minute documentary explains the reason for and the process of creating and implementing ...
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You are not alone
To Veronica Brown
Veronica, we adult adoptees are thinking of you today and every day. We will be here when you need us. Your journey in the adopted life has begun, nothing can revoke that now, the damage cannot be undone. Be courageous, you have what no adoptee before you has had; a strong group of adult adoptees who know your story, who are behind you and will always be so.
GO HERE:
https://www.gluckstein.com/sixties-scoop-survivors
Lost Birds on Al Jazeera Fault Lines
click to read and listen about Trace, Diane, Julie and Suzie
We conclude this series & continue the conversation by naming that adoption is genocide. This naming refers to the process of genocide that breaks kinship ties through adoption & other forms of family separation & policing 🧵#NAAM2022#AdoptionIsTraumaAND#AdopteeTwitter#FFY 1/6 pic.twitter.com/46v0mWISZ1
As the single largest unregulated industry in the United States, adoption is viewed as a benevolent action that results in the formation of “forever families.” The truth is that it is a very lucrative business with a known sales pitch. With profits last estimated at over $1.44 billion dollars a year, mothers who consider adoption for their babies need to be very aware that all of this promotion clouds the facts and only though independent research can they get an accurate account of what life might be like for both them and their child after signing the adoption paperwork.
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