The International Indigenous Policy Journal

Article Title

First Nations Teenaged Female Lone Parent Families in Canada: Recognizing Family Diversity and the Importance of Networks of Care

Authors

Jacqueline M. Quinless, University of VictoriaFollow

Abstract

Using semi-custom data tabulations from the 2006 Census of Population, this article provides a brief statistical description of the socio-economic conditions of female First Nations teenaged lone parents aged 15 to 19 years in Canada. It examines existing formal and informal social and economic support systems available to First Nations lone mother families in multiple family households. These support systems where compared to First Nations lone mothers in single family households as a way to shed light on the varying degrees that informal networks of care may be available to First Nations lone mothers living on reserve, as compared to those living off reserve, who access varying degrees of support from extended family members for the care and nurturing of their children. Despite the dominant Westernized view of the negative impacts that teenaged lone parenting can have on women and their children, this article illustrates that there seems to be a culturally interrelated system, or “networks of care,” available to these women. Such networks of care often have been overlooked in research on lone parenting. There remains much diversity among Aboriginal lone parent families when one accounts for factors such as age of the parent, number of children, living on or off reserve, education, employment, and income. Therefore, the assumption that the social and economic disadvantage of becoming a teenaged lone parent will result in the same circumstances and place all teenaged lone parents at the same “disadvantage” is not necessarily accurate, at least in the First Nation context.

French Abstract

MONOPARENTALITÉ CHEZ LES ADOLESCENTS DES PREMIÈRES NATIONS DU CANADA : RECONNAÎTRE LA DIVERSITÉ FAMILIALE ET L’IMPORTANCE DES RÉSEAUX DE SOINS

Jacqueline M. Quinless
Quintessential Research Group, Inc.
et Camosun College

Résumé

Cette étude, fondée sur les données du Recensement du Canada de 2006, examine le nombre d’adolescents des Premières Nations chefs de famille monoparentale vivant dans les réserves et à l’extérieur de celles-ci. Elle examine ensuite les diverses caractéristiques socioéconomiques uniques à ces deux groupes d’adolescents chefs de famille monoparentale. Les résultats révèlent que la monoparentalité chez les jeunes des Premières Nations est une tendance à la hausse et que de nombreux adolescents des Premières Nations chefs de famille monoparentale vivent dans des ménages multifamiliaux. L’étude donne également à penser que les adolescents des Premières Nations chefs de famille monoparentale ont régulièrement accès à des « réseaux d’aide » officieux, même si ce phénomène est plus fréquemment observé dans les réserves qu’à l’extérieur de celles-ci.

Spanish Abstract

FAMILIAS MONOPARENTALES ADOLESCENTES DE LAS PRIMERAS NACIONES EN CANADÁ: RECONOCIMIENTO DE LA DIVERSIDAD DE FAMILIAS E IMPORTANCIA DE LAS REDES DE ATENCIÓ

Jacqueline M. Quinless
Quintessential Research Group Inc
& Camosun College

Resumen

En este artículo se emplean datos del censo canadiense de 2006 para examinar el número de familias indígenas monoparentales adolescentes que viven en reservas y fuera de ellas. También se analizan las diversas características sociales y económicas exclusivas de estos dos grupos de familias monoparentales adolescentes. Se observa que las familias indígenas monoparentales adolescentes constituyen una tendencia creciente, que muchas familias indígenas monoparentales adolescentes viven en hogares con otras familias y se sugiere que tienen acceso regularmente a “redes de atención” informales, aunque este fenómeno es más frecuente entre las familias en las reservas que fuera de las reservas.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Marc Fonda, Senior Research Manager at Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada’s Strategic Research Directorate, for his valuable insights and editorial expertise.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Quinless, J. M. (2013). First Nations Teenaged Female Lone Parent Families in Canada: Recognizing Family Diversity and the Importance of Networks of Care. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 4(1) . Retrieved from: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/iipj/vol4/iss1/12
DOI: 10.18584/iipj.2013.4.1.12