TRC Calls to Action: #11

Legacy
Education

11. We call upon the federal government to provide adequate funding to end the backlog of First Nations students seeking a post-secondary education.

I had no idea there was such a backlog... I have always assumed that those seeking post-secondary education could do so. (That there, folks, is an example of how my privilege as a white person has shaped my view). This CBC article from 2016 states that a cap in federal support to Indigenous students seeking higher education (predictably) meant a decrease in Indigenous students in post-secondary institutions; the price to go to university, of course, continues to increase exponentially. So it's no surprise that these students are finding it nearly impossible to be able to attend.

To be honest I think post-secondary education should be much more easily accessible to all students, Indigenous or not - but it makes sense that a population as historically underrepresented and unsupported as First Nations folks would have the hardest time accessing such resources.

This Government of Canada page explains how First Nations students can apply for post-secondary funding, but even it concedes such support is limited. This article about the 2017 budget gives a bit of a breakdown of how money is being allocated in response to these Calls, including today's, but I haven't been able to find any information regarding the 2016 cap on funding and if that cap still stands (ie, if the amount of funding can or can not be increased year to year.)

TRC Calls to Action #10

Legacy
Education

10. We call on the federal government to draft new Aboriginal education legislation with the full participation and informed consent of Aboriginal peoples. The new legislation would include a commitment to sufficient funding and would incorporate the following principles:

i. Providing sufficient funding to close identified educational achievement gaps within one generation.

ii. Improving education attainment levels and success rates.

iii. Developing culturally appropriate curricula.

iv. Protecting the right to Aboriginal languages, including the teaching of Aboriginal languages as credit courses.

v. Enabling parental and community responsibility, control, and accountability, similar to what parents enjoy in public school systems.

vi. Enabling parents to fully participate in the education of their children.

vii. Respecting and honouring Treaty relationships.

Interestingly, I read an article yesterday which stated that Indigenous students in BC are graduating at the highest rate ever (70%), that the province provides about $74 million to support Indigenous students, and that there are 17 First Nations languages with approved curricula and another six languages on their way to being approved. So in BC, at least, improvements are being made...

TRC Calls to Action: #9

Legacy
Education

9. We call upon the federal government to prepare and publish annual reports comparing funding for the education of First Nations children on and off reserves, as well as educational and income attainments of Aboriginal peoples in Canada compared with non-Aboriginal people.

TRC Calls to Action: #8

Legacy
Education

  8. We call upon the federal government to eliminate the discrepancy in federal education funding for First Nations children being educated on reserves and those First Nations children being educated off reserves.

Most recent numbers suggest funding for First Nations schools is still around 30% lower than funding for other schools. This CBC article gives some interesting insight as to part of the reason why; basically, First Nations schools are federally funded, whereas the rest are provincially funded - this means someone at the federal level, who is too disconnected from the reserves to make any kind of relevant contribution to their education systems, is in charge of something they actually have very little to do with. If First Nations schools were to go to the provinces for funding, however, they would essentially lose control over their education systems altogether, and would likely have even more non-Indigenous interference, leadership and curricula. It's an interesting issue and I encourage you to do your own research about it; I started with the Government of Canada's page.

What I have learned through today's Call: First Nations schools are funded federally, whereas non-Indigenous schools are funded provincially; this difference in funding power has consequences which contribute to the discrepancy between First Nations schools and others.

 

TRC Calls to Action: #7

Legacy
Education

  7. We call upon the federal government to develop with Aboriginal groups a joint strategy to eliminate educational and employment gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians.

TRC Calls to Action: #6

Legacy
Education

6. We call upon the Government of Canada to repeal Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada.

The first Call under the Education subheader relates to corporal punishment; Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada - colloquially known as "the spanking law" - states: "Every schoolteacher, parent or person standing in place of a parent is justified in using force by way of correction toward a pupil or child, as the case may be, who is under his care, if the force does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances."

There have been several attempts to repeal this law, the most recent having been undertaken by the Trudeau government in 2015, in response to this Call to Action. As yet, Section 43 has not been successfully repealed, for various reasons. Have a read through this Library of Parliament page for an overview of this issue.

Rather than delve too deeply into my own thoughts about corporal punishment, instead I'll speak to my understanding of how this issue relates to reconciliation. As we know, children in residential schools were subjected to every form of abuse imaginable, including corporal punishment; many residential school survivors who became parents, in turn, abused their children... and so on and so forth. Violence begets violence; trauma begets trauma. Psychology knows this. In calling to repeal this law, the Commission points to this history of violence against Indigenous children and acknowledges that, moving forward, we should do everything we can do avoid repeating it, including repealing a law that essentially allows it to happen.

This law pertains to all children, of course. But I'd be interested to see modern statistics regarding corporal punishment used against Aboriginal vs. non-Aboriginal students. I don't imagine accurate statistics will be very easy to find, because who is going to openly and honestly report on such a thing in their own school or organization? But I'm going to look into it.

On a broader sociological scale, I see this Call as referencing the dehumanization of Indigenous people in general - it is easier to commit violence against someone we see as less than ourselves. You could then make a connection between this Call and the very real and prevalent issue of violence against Indigenous women; if Indigenous lives (and specifically female Indigenous lives) are devalued, and if violence against them is perhaps not overtly condoned, but also not acutely condemned, it will continue to occur.

TRC Calls to Action: #5

Legacy
Child Welfare

5. We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to develop culturally appropriate parenting programs for Aboriginal families.

 I love this one! I think all parents should have access to - but more importantly, actually use - parenting programs; I'm convinced better parenting is a solution to a lot of social issues in general, but I won't get into that now...
The idea in this Call is clear: to make sure Indigenous folks have the resources they need to bring kids up in the best possible environment for them, thereby continuing to honour and respect cultural practices and avoiding taking children away from their families to be placed in care.
I wonder how we're doing with this one...

TRC Calls to Action: #4

Legacy
Child Welfare

4. We call upon the federal government to enact Aboriginal child-welfare legislation that establishes national standards for Aboriginal child apprehension and custody cases and includes principles that:

i. Affirm the right of Aboriginal governments to establish and maintain their own child-welfare agencies.

ii. Require all child-welfare agencies and courts to take the residential school legacy into account in their decision making.

iii. Establish, as an important priority, a requirement that placements of Aboriginal children into

temporary and permanent care be culturally appropriate.

This Call is similar to the very first one, in that it holds up the importance of understanding the effects of the residential school experience on Indigenous people and communities and acknowledging the necessity for First Nations to have their own jurisdictional power over issues that affect them. It also reiterates the need for First Nations kids to be cared for or raised in a culturally appropriate context ie. by people who share and understand their culture and history. Essentially, the intention here is that Indigenous people and communities are given the same agency and respect afforded to the rest of us by trying to eliminate the systemic biases that (still, unfortunately) lead to Aboriginal children disproportionately being taken into care.

TRC Calls to Action: #3

Legacy
Child Welfare

3. We call upon all levels of government to fully implement Jordan’s Principle.

 

If you're like me you had no idea what Jordan's Principle was before now... a quick google search brings me to a Government of Canada page, which tells us that Jordan's Principle is named after Jordan River Anderson, a young boy from Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba who had multiple disabilities and sadly died at the age of 5.

According to the Canada.ca page, "Jordan's Principle makes sure all First Nations children can access the products, services and supports they need, when they need them. It can help with a wide range of health, social and educational needs."

I would highly recommend doing some of your own research on this, starting with the links provided above, but essentially Jordan's Principle states that all Indigenous children will get adequate medical care, and that any argument between the federal and provincial governments regarding who is responsible for paying for medical costs would not interfere with the patient receiving that care.

TRC Calls to Action: #2

Legacy
Child Welfare

2. We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, to prepare and publish annual reports on the number of Aboriginal children (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) who are in care, compared with non-Aboriginal children, as well as the reasons for apprehension, the total spending on preventative and care services by child-welfare agencies, and the effectiveness of various interventions.

This one is fairly straight-forward: governments are keeping tabs on the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in care, and making sure those in care are there for the right reasons. According to reports I've seen, "the rate of Aboriginal children and youth in care is not decreasing as fast as originally anticipated." (Ministry of Children & Family Development 2016/17 Annual Service Plan Report) In fact, apparently Canada is still removing "indigenous children from their families at a rate that ranks among the highest in the developed world"; "while only seven percent of children in Canada are Aboriginal, they account for close to half of those in foster care. (The Guardian, November 2017) Sooo we're obviously not doing enough in terms of prevention on that front... studies show that access to education, healthcare, sanitation and basic needs and rights like food and shelter contribute to lower rates of poverty and other circumstances that often lead to children being put in foster care. So why are we still failing to provide these things to Indigenous communities?

This is a rather complex issue, so I would strongly encourage you to read the Guardian article, which pretty clearly explains how systemic bias is still occurring against Indigenous kids and their families, as well as do your own research for similar articles and reports. In studying this Call I've learned that the reports stated within are fairly easy to find, and going forward I'll be interested to continue going through such reports to see how we're doing on this particular Call...

TRC Calls to Action: #1

The first Call to Action comes under the header of Legacy, with the first subheader being Child Welfare.

1. We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to commit to reducing the number of Aboriginal children in care by:

   i. Monitoring and assessing neglect investigations

   ii. Providing adequate resources to enable Aboriginal communities and child-welfare organizations to keep Aboriginal families together where it is safe to do so, and to keep children in culturally appropriate environments, regardless of where they reside.

   iii. Ensuring that social workers and other who conduct child-welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the history and impacts of residential schools.

   iv. Ensuring that social workers and others who conduct child-welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the potential for Aboriginal communities and families to provide more appropriate solutions to family healing.

   v. Requiring that all child-welfare decision makers consider the impact of the residential school experience on children and their caregivers.

First and foremost I'm seeing an effort to make sure people are being educated about residential schools and their trickle-down effect; mental illness, violence, alcoholism, homelessness and other issues facing Aboriginal folks stem directly from the residential school experience. Had Aboriginal children not been taken from their families in an (ultimately successful) effort to expunge their cultural ways, they would be free from these issues today. It is critical that anyone working with Indigenous families understand this, in order to move away from an attitude of "you've done this to yourself, snap out of it," to acknowledging the effect of generational trauma and understanding that the behaviour stemming from such trauma is not the individual's fault. (In fact, it is critical that each of us recognizes how our experiences shape us all, that we are each products of many forces outside ourselves and that we are each deserving of compassion and understanding for these very reasons.)

I'm also seeing emphasis placed upon honouring Aboriginal cultures and allowing those cultures to thrive. Rather than forcing colonial-influenced healing, this Call to Action allows for Indigenous communities to follow their ancestral ways, thereby respecting Aboriginal culture and identity and conceding that the colonial way may not be the only way. (What a concept!) The idea of keeping Indigenous families and communities together is in direct opposition to the aim of residential schools, and is certainly a step in the direction toward decolonization.

How has this Call to Action helped to decolonize my way of thinking?
I am reminded that there are other ways of doing than what I have been taught in my own euro-centric experience and that there is value in these other ways.

How can I implement what I have learned?
When engaging with someone from a different cultural experience (not only Indigenous folks), I will hold awareness of my own colonial conditioning and be very careful not to impose that conditioning on the person with whom I am sharing space.

Leader laissez-faire is bullshit: an expletive-laden rant about democracy

I've noticed an interesting discussion trend lately - something I've never encountered before; I'm seeing a lot of people (mostly Trump supporters) saying things like: "He is the President, so just deal with it. Instead of criticizing, we should be supporting the leader of our country." Any truly democratically-minded person can see why this statement is utter fucking nonsense.

I can't believe I even have to point this out, but democracy doesn't end as soon as we've voted. A citizen's participation in democracy doesn't end with casting their ballot, and believing it does makes one a lazy citizen. It is up to each and every one of us to hold our leaders accountable, always. Some people aren't interested in actively participating in democracy, in making sure their community, their country is being appropriately governed... and that's fine, I guess. I personally think it's every citizen's job to stay engaged, and that the world would be a much better place if everyone used their damn voice to talk about what matters to them and inspire change instead of passively standing by while other people make decisions for them that they may or may not agree with, but I understand that some people just don't give a shit, and that's their prerogative. (That isn't what this post is meant to address, so I won't go on about how lucky we are to have been randomly born into a democracy and that we should each honour this privilege by actively participating in that democracybutoopsIjustdid.)

In any case, you can't tell me you're a politically interested person (regardless of your views or where you fall on the political spectrum) while clinging to a laissez-faire attitude about the people in charge. I fucking love me some Trudeau 2.0, and I think he's doing a bang-up job overall, (and I don't even vote Liberal) but I'm not thrilled with some of the things he is doing, and I have no qualms about adding my voice to the chorus of people who speak up against those things.

You can support a leader and criticize them at the same time. Politics are complex, human beings are complex, and failure to acknowledge this shows a complete lack of critical thinking or interest in a deeper understanding of political engagement. It is not unpatriotic to speak out about what you believe is best for you and your country. In fact, it is extremely patriotic to do so, because it shows you actually give a shit about your country and its people.

Of course, many of these Trump supporters spewing this ridiculously undemocratic bullshit are the same people who pissed on Barack Obama throughout his entire tenure as President, which doesn't lend much credence to their stance, either. It's just another way simple people try to shut down any kind of meaningful dialogue - especially if that dialogue is critical of their beloved leader - and continue their narrative of convenient ignorance. It also shows a laughable lack of understanding of what constitutes democracy, which I find hilarious coming from people who cling so tightly to their American patriotism.

All this to say: the idea that once our ballots are cast and a leader has been elected we should all just sit down, shut up and "let them do their job," is complete and utter bullshit, regardless of a person's political leanings. A leader's job is to remain accountable to us. And it is our job to demand that accountability.