Treaty 2 Territory – The day was filled with a lot of sharing coming from many grandmothers who have and are still navigating the current child and family services system. They do this in order to make sure their grandchildren are cared for by them, and so their aging out grandchildren receive to life skills and tools they have an inherent right to.
There were also a couple of staff from Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) who sat in for a bit as they were carrying out environmental and health tests on the new school to ensure the safety and health of everyone is maintained. They enjoyed learning about First Nation history, and the history of Lake St. Martin; getting to know the people.
It was expressed that the flood brought additional challenges.“Many families fell apart due to the 2011 flood and are still apart. Our children need to know who their family is and should be with family always as a priority” stated a grandmother.
The participants reviewed a historical timeline and talked about wanting to make it priority in their law that their First Nation or family must be first contact so that their children don’t need to be traumatized more.
Awareness and education is very important to the participants, “if I didn’t know about how the system worked I wouldn’t have been able to bring my grandchildren home”.
The group placed a lot of emphasis on a child must have their inherent language, identity and culture; they are the center and should always be the centre of the community because it takes a community to raise a child.
A grandfather said “ I have been taught it is the mother who is the heart of the home”
The next session to be held in Lake St. Martin on Wednesday, November 27, 2019.
Your participation is needed and valued.
Last modified: October 9, 2019
