Community Life

ON.14.02 Feathers of Hope - Empowering First NationsYouth

Whereas the Feathers of Hope forum report titled Together We Are…Feathers of Hope: A First Nations Youth Action Plan (Feathers of Hope) released February 2014, helped young people realize they could “add their voices and energies to work with their communities, leadership and government to create real change”; and

Whereas there are issues related to poverty of youth in First Nations communities raised in numerous reports over several decades without any meaningful response from the appropriate Provincial/Territorial and Federal Ministries, creating a feeling of hopelessness that contributes to First Nations youth suicide rates 5 to 7 times higher than the national average; and

Whereas Indigenous children trail the rest of Canada’s children on practically every measure of well-being; therefore, be it

Resolved that the members of the Ontario provincial council of The Catholic Women’s League of Canada, in the 67th annual convention assembled,urge the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth to initiate a meeting of the appropriate Provincial/Territorialand Federal Ministries, First Nations leaders, and First Nations youth to discuss and create a five-year strategy to implement the recommendations set out in the Feathers of Hopeaction plan;and be it further

Resolved that the Ontario provincial council of The Catholic Women’s League of Canada in 67th annual convention assembled request the national council of The Catholic Women’s League of Canadato urge the Canadian Council of Provincial Child and Youth Advocates to initiate a meeting with all appropriate Provincial and Territorial Ministries, First Nations leaders, First Nations youth and other interested organizations to undertake a similar process to the Feathers of Hope in the remaining provinces and territories of Canada; and be it further

Resolved that this resolution be forwarded to the national council of The Catholic Women’s League of Canada for consideration at the 94th annual national convention in August 2014.

Submitted by Ontario provincial council

Brief

With the release of Together We Are…Feathers of Hope: A First Nations Youth Action Plan in February 2014, it is time “for decision makers to walk beside them [youth] and work together to improve the circumstances of their lives.” (Elman, 2013, p.9) Canadians must act with urgency to provide effective supports, services and social conditions that will enable Aboriginal children and youth to achieve the developmental outcomes and level of wellbeing that Canadian children should equally enjoy. First Nations youth have requested that, “all decision-makers in Ministries at the provincial and federal level, First Nations leadership and other interested organizations must join together and take immediate action to meet the needs and challenges faced by First Nations youth. All actions and strategies based on the action plans must be created with First Nations young people as equal partners” (Crowe, Araba, Beardy-Meekis, Morris, & Trudeau, 2013, p.14) to work together to create a five-year strategy. We must immediately empower and support First Nations youthto “add their voices and energies to work with their communities, leadership and government to create real change” (Crowe et al., p.11).

“Based on data from the 2006 census, this study found that the average child poverty rate for all children in Canada is 17%, while the average child poverty rate for all Indigenous children is more than twice that figure, at 40%” (McDonald, 2013, p.6). “Most shocking, however, is that fully half – 50% - of status First Nations children live below the poverty line. This number grows to 62% in Manitoba and 64% in Saskatchewan” (McDonald, 2013, p.6). “The poverty rate of status First Nations children living on reserves was triple that of non-indigenous children” (Hildebrandt,2013, p.1). In addition, “Indigenous children trail the rest of Canada’s children on practically every measure of wellbeing: family income, educational attainment, poor water quality, infant mortality, health, suicide, crowding and homelessness” (McDonald, 2013, p.7).

“The Canadian Council of Provincial Child and Youth Advocates (the Council) is an alliance of government-appointed children’s advocates from nine provinces and one territory. Each operates under a legislative framework unique to their province or territory, and their titles differ. Nine of the ten members are independent officers of their provincial/territorial legislatures.” (2010,p.1) In its discussion paper, Aboriginal Children and Youth in Canada: Canada Must Do Better, released in 2010, the Council indicated, “the information outlined in this paper is not new” (p.3). “In 1996, the Royal Commission report on Aboriginal Peoples acknowledged the numerous challenges that Aboriginal children face and advocated for collective efforts to address them” (p.3).

“Canada championed the United Nations Convention on theRights of the Child” (p.4)in 1989. “Indicators continue to show Aboriginal children facing far worse than their non-Aboriginal peers” (p.4). “The goal of addressing the rights of Aboriginal children and their persistent disadvantages remains unrealized” (p.4). A review of the Office of the Chief Coroner’s report of the youth suicides in Pikangikum First Nation from 2006 – 2008 released in 2011, also references the 1995 Horizons of Hope Report; “At that time, young people noted the time for talk was over and that it was time to put their ideas into action” (Lauwers, p.147).

“Our view is that Aboriginal children and youth are a vital part of the social fabric of Canada” (The Canadian Council of Provincial Child and Youth Advocates, p.2).

The time for change is now.

Community Life

Works Cited

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. Suicide Prevention. 08 Nov. 2013. 16 Mar. 2014. < /promotion/suicide/index-eng.pdf>.

Anishinabek News. "First Nations kids poorest in Canada." 24 June 2013. 15 Mar. 2014 <

Assembly of First Nations. The $9 Billion Myth Exposed: Why First Nations Poverty Endures. Publication. Ottawa: <

Blackstock, Cindy. Why the World Needs to Watch: The Canadian Government Held to Account for Racial Discrimination Against Indigenous Children Before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. Publication. Ottawa: First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, 2010.United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: Forum on Indigenous Child and Youth Rights Vancouver, Canada March 2-5, 2010 < International%20EGM%20Presentation%20by%20Cindy.pdf>

Canadian Council of Provincial Child and Youth Advocates.Aboriginal Children and Youth in Canada: Canada Must Do Better. Recommendations for Action. June 23, 2010.

Chiefs of Ontario. A Portrait of First Nations and Education. Working paper. Assembly on Education, Gatineau, Quebec October 13, 2012.

Crowe, Samantha et al. Feathers of Hope: A First Nations Youth Action Plan. Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth. February 24, 2014.

Education Stewardship Unit. The Health of First Nations Children and the Environment. Working paper. Ottawa: Assembly of First Nations, 2008.

Family Service Toronto. Revisiting Family Security in Insecure Times: 2011 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada. < campaign2000.ca/reportCards/national/2011English RreportCard.pdf>.

First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada. Structural Interventions in Child Welfare. (June 2013). Fact Sheet. < Welfare.pdf>.

Fox, Corinne, and Jacki Alto. "Intergovernmental Network (IGN) on Nishnawbe Aski Nation Children & Youth." Chiefs Assembly 2010. Thunder Bay. 8 Feb. 2014.

Health and Social Services Commission. "Poverty Indicators among the First Nations." First Nations of Quebec and Labrador. 14 Feb. 2014 <http%3A%2F%2F

Hettinga, Peter, Lawrence Kirmayer Dr., Clark MacFarlane Mr., Harriet MacMillan Dr., Bill Mussel Mr., Doreen South (Rodenkirchen) Rev., Madeleine Dion Stout, Cornelia Wieman Dr., and Janet Binks. Acting on What We Know: Preventing Youth Suicide In First Nations. Rep. Comp. Nancy Johnson. Government of Canada. Health Canada. First Nations and Inuit Health Branch. The Authors were members of the Advisory Group on Suicide Prevention.

Hildebrandt, Amber. "Half of First Nations children live in poverty." CBCnews. 19 June 2013. CBC/Radio Canada. 12 Feb. 2014. < news/canada/half-of-first-nations-children-live-in-poverty-1.1324232>.

Housing Peterborough - News Listing. 13 June 2013. The Star. 15 Mar. 2014 <

Laurie, Nathan. The Cost of Poverty: An Analysis of the Economic Cost of Poverty in Ontario. Publication. Toronto: Ontario Association of Food Banks, 2008.

Lauwers, Bert. The Office of the Chief Coroner's Death Review of the Youth Suicides at the Pikangikum First Nation 2006-2008. Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, 2011.

Madondo, Obert. "The Canadian Progressive." The Canadian Progressive. 15 Mar. 2014 < hungry-aboriginal-kids-adults-used-as-nutritional-experiment-subjects/#.UyTARnm4lSU>.

McDonald, David, and Daniel Wilson. Poverty or Prosperity: Indigenous Children in Canada. Publication. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 2013.

Ministry of Children and Youth Services. Breaking the Cycle: The Fifth Progress Report (2013). Rep. Toronto: Government of Ontario. 2014.

Ministry of Children and Youth Services. Breaking the Cycle: The Third Progress Report (2011). Rep. Toronto: Province of Ontario. 2012.

Ministry of Health. Aboriginal Healing and Wellness Strategy. OAHAI MANUAL: Aboriginal Child Health Advocacy. Publication. Vol. 10. Aboriginal Policy Research Series. Government of Ontario. Ontario Aboriginal Health Advocacy Initiative, 2011. <http//74.213.160.105/oahai/ Acrobatfiles/childadvocacy.pdf>.

National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health. Poverty as a social Determinant of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis Health. Publication. Prince George: University of Northern British Columbia, 2009. determinates/ NCCAH_fs_poverty_EN.pdf.

North-South Partnership for Children in Remote First Nations Communities. Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug. Mamow Na-nan-da-we-ki-ken-chi-kay-win: Searching Together Report < partnership.com/downloads/KI_AR09.pdf>.

Speech from the Throne, INAC (now AANDC)Progress Report: National Child Benefit Reinvestment.No. QS-7021-070-BB-A1 at 1-28 (2006).

Action Plan

  • Review the Feathers of Hope report to determine if there are specific recommendations or requests from the youth that could be supported by League members;
  • Write letters of support to the Canadian Council of Child and Youth Provincial Advocates and/or directly to the government-appointed child and youth advocate in their province or territory;
  • Have a First Nation youth or representative make a presentation related to their experiences to bring awareness to members;
  • Ask members to be aware of First Nation youth concerns;