Repatriation of Aboriginal Families- Issues, Models and a Workplan
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Aboriginal Healing & Wellness Strategy Research Project: REPATRIATION OF ABORIGINAL FAMILIES- ISSUES, MODELS AND A WORKPLAN FINAL REPORT (MARCH 1999) Prepared by: Native Child and Family Services of Toronto Stevenato and Associates Janet Budgell This report is dedicated to the “Father of Repatriation”, Moses Tom (Introduction by Janet Budgell) Although his body was wracked with the ravages from years of diabetes and smoking cigarettes, his eyes had the clarity and longing of a young man. He sat on his bed in a sparsely decorated room. The air was heavy with smoke and western medicine. The infections on his feet must have been uncomfortable but he did not complain. We were five people sitting on the floor listening. I imagined this man at another time in history sitting cross-legged on mother earth wearing buckskins, aging gracefully and passing on his wisdom to his children. This man was Moses Tom, considered by many to be the Father of Repatriation. I feel honoured to have met him. His story of pain, struggle and triumph as told by his eldest daughter, Pauline, is as follows: On September 29, 1998, Moses passed away in the Emo Hospital, after a long struggle with diabetes. He was 68. Before the end, there was a beginning and a middle...... I do not know much about my father’s early childhood life. He was born on February 11, 1930 on the First Nation community of Big Grassy. Moses married Bessie from the adjacent Big Island First Nation in 1962. Along the way they were both afflicted with the curse which strikes so many despairing and dispossessed people: alcohol. Moses and Bessie were strong, loving, caring parents, but their human difficulties overwhelmed their essential goodness at certain times during this period. The story is so familiar to so many First Nations people. Four of their ten children were removed by the local Children’s Aid Society, not to be seen again for many years. Moses told us of a dream he had while in jail, about some children reaching out to him from the bush and crying for help. That day he became sober and dedicated his life to the children of the First Nation communities. The middle part of our father’s life began when he started work for the Fort Frances CAS in 1978. This was a federally funded program designed to see if workers who knew the families and communities, could make a difference in the outflow of children into white homes, often into the United States and even Europe. He was a tireless traveler attempting to negotiate the repatriation of many children. His dream of “doing things the Indian Way” led Moses to the forefront of negotiations and the founding of Weechi-it-te-win, a totally First Nations governed child welfare agency which assumed all child welfare responsibilities for ten First Nation communities. Perhaps his most famous repatriation battle was that of (then) 17 year old Cameron Kerley who had been adopted by a white man in the USA. Cameron killed his father with a baseball bat and received a 20 year sentence in prison. During the trial, it was revealed that Cameron had suffered severe and repeated sexual abuse at the hands of his father throughout his life. Moses led the campaign to return Cameron to complete his sentence in Manitoba, where he was re- united with some of his original family and his Sioux roots. Moses and Bessie never forgot that vivid dream of children crying out for help. They cared for three children for many years, and dozens of children for shorter stays. With the help of their family members, they continued to search for their own lost children. The two boys were located in 1979 when they were in their early teens. Contact was infrequent after that time and the last visit was in 1994. In 1990, the twins who were adopted at birth were located, but it was not until sometime later that they actually met Moses, Bessie and the rest of their original family in Winnipeg. Moses always felt the hurt from the loss of his four children, but he was always thankful to the Creator for giving him a chance to see them all again before he died. Meegwetch to the Aboriginal Healing and Wellness Strategy for dedicating this report to the memory of Moses Tom, who raised his children the “Indian Way”, to give thanks, respect all things, and care for others. Aboriginal Healing and Wellness Strategy RESEARCH PROJECT: REPATRIATION OF ABORIGINAL FAMILIES TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1.0 Introduction..............................................................................................................1 1.1 Initiation of the Project ................................................................................1 1.2 Methodology ................................................................................................2 2.0 Defining Repatriation...............................................................................................7 2.1 What is Repatriation?...................................................................................7 2.2 Why are Aboriginal People Seeking Repatriation? .....................................8 3.0 Background / History of the Removal of Aboriginal Children................................9 3.1 A Brief History of the Removal of Aboriginal Children in Ontario ............9 3.2 Establishment of Native Child Welfare Authorities ..................................21 3.3 Brief History of Removal of Children in Australia....................................22 4.0 Statistical and Demographic Data..........................................................................25 5.0 Existing Repatriation Programs, Services and Models..........................................33 5.1 Introduction................................................................................................33 5.2 The Repatriation Process ...........................................................................33 5.3 Mainstream Reunion Services in Ontario ..................................................37 5.4 Aboriginal Repatriation Services in Canada (excluding Ontario) .............43 5.5 Aboriginal Repatriation Services in Ontario..............................................46 5.6 Aboriginal Repatriation Programs in the United States.............................54 5.7 Aboriginal Repatriation Programs in Australia .........................................55 5.8 Aboriginal Repatriation Programs in New Zealand...................................56 6.0 Identification of Key Issues and Barriers...............................................................57 6.1 Introduction................................................................................................57 6.2 Legal and Jurisdictional Issues...................................................................58 6.3 Repatriation Process Issues .......................................................................61 6.4 Individual Issues ........................................................................................64 6.5 Community Issues......................................................................................70 6.6 Summary of the Need for a Repatriation Program.....................................71 7.0 Existing Repatriation Programs, Services and Models..........................................75 7.1 Introduction................................................................................................75 7.2 Options.......................................................................................................77 7.3 Evaluating the Options...............................................................................77 8.0 Cost Estimates........................................................................................................81 8.1 Capital Cost Estimates ...............................................................................81 8.2 Operating Cost Estimates...........................................................................81 9.0 Implementation Strategy ........................................................................................85 9.1 Introduction................................................................................................85 9.2 Phase 1: Data Gathering & Education & Awareness.................................86 9.3 Phase 2: Develop a Repatriation Program - Focusing Initially on Education & Awareness...........................................89 9.4 Phase 3: Expansion of the Repatriation Program to Include Training & Counseling Services................................................................96 9.4 Phase 4: Expansion of the Repatriation Program to Include Policy Analysis.........................................................................................103 10.0 Evaluation Plan ....................................................................................................107 10.1 Introduction..............................................................................................107 10.2 Evaluation Steps.......................................................................................107 10.3 Evaluation Measures................................................................................109 Appendices Appendix A: List of Contacts Appendix B: List of Resources Reviewed Appendix C: Resolution 81/19 Appendix D: List of Volunteer Support Group Appendix E: Glossary Appendix F: Comparison of Options for Model Appendix G: Detailed Charts of Implementation Plan AHWS- Repatriation of Aboriginal Peoples Research Project ________________________________________________________________________