Editorial: Heeding the Calls to Action

The articles in Volume 8, Issue 2 of the First Peoples Child & Family Review cover a variety of topics, from discrimination in the Indian Act to personal narratives of struggle and success. Yet despite the diversity, the articles are connected by common themes and conclusions. The authors advocate that social issues like Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), child welfare policy, and incarceration, among others, can be positively addressed through the recognition of Aboriginal cultural practices and traditional knowledge. In addition, each article touches upon colonization, the effects of residential schools and intergenerational trauma, and the need for healing based in Aboriginal teachings, values, and culture. The authors ground their recommendations in the lived experiences of Aboriginal individuals and communities. The voices and experiences of these Aboriginal peoples must be taken as the starting point for effective policy change and practice. In “Improving Substance Use Treatment for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Women,” authors Poole, Chansonneuve and Hache provide recommendations arising from a virtual inquiry project. Over a 15 month period, 30+ researchers, service providers, health system planners, and Aboriginal health advocates came together in a virtual community to discuss how to improve supports for First Nations, Métis and Inuit women with substance use problems at risk of having a child affected by FASD. This virtual inquiry project showed the potential to develop recommendations that can address the complexities of FASD prevention in Indigenous contexts by accounting for the varied influences on women’s substance use and the continuum of treatment options. Ultimately, the participants’ recommendations for increasing community capacity, improving access to holistic and supportive treatments, and raising awareness seek to improve Canada’s substance use system of care to better support needs of Aboriginal women. In “Defining Permanency and Aboriginal Youth in Foster Care,” authors Stangeland and Walsh address the debate regarding culturally appropriate practices for permanency for Aboriginal children and youth. They argue that achieving permanency for all children is not simply an ideal, but a matter of social justice. Current conversations surround the significance of all stakeholders being meaningfully engaged in Aboriginal youth permanency planning. There is, however, a noticeable gap in the literature regarding Aboriginal youth permanency and culture, such as maintaining ties to tradition, ethnicity, language, and religion. Stangeland and Walsh challenge how permanency is conceptualized and operationalized by calling for Aboriginal youth in foster care to be consulted about their definitions and needs for permanency. The insights of these youth will provide practitioners with knowledge on the development and evaluation of specific permanency models for Aboriginal youth in foster care. Moving on, Hyatt speaks to the significance of cultural healing of Aboriginal peoples incarcerated in Canadian prisons. She begins by addressing some of the factors that contribute to the overrepresentation rates, such as age, education, and unemployment. However, these factors, which also contribute to incarceration of non-Aboriginal peoples, fail to fully explain the historical role of stigmatized oppression currently impacting Aboriginal communities. Hyatt argues cultural assimilation and the loss of Aboriginal culture is a key factor in the disproportionate incarceration rate of Aboriginal people. Since the 1980’s when Aboriginal spirituality was introduced within Canadian prisons, a number of issues and barriers have arisen facing the Aboriginal spiritual practices, Elders, and program resources designed to support healing from trauma. Although Canadian prisons are evolving and making an effort to provide Aboriginal people with ways to access their culture and practice their traditions, the current cultural practices must include a dialogue regarding the impacts of colonization on Aboriginal culture, education, employment, addictions, and incarceration. From dialogue to voice, the remaining articles offer narratives by female authors seeking …