Article Title

Long Time Overdue: An Examination of the Destructive Impacts of Policy and Legislation on Pregnant and Parenting Aboriginal Women and their Children

Abstract

Today, in Canada, Aboriginal peoples continue to experience marginalization, over representation in the child welfare system, and a higher prevalence of poverty and substance misuse challenges. These experiences affect for Aboriginal women in particular because of the oppressive experiences of systemic racism and discrimination they face, including legislation such as the Indian Act and the Child and Family Services Act, which directly targets them. This article is based on a research project conducted in Toronto, Ontario that implemented Aboriginal research methodologies to explore ways to increase collaboration between Aboriginal families, treatment counsellors, and child welfare workers. One significant theme that emerged out of this project was the concept of time as related to policy and legislation that negatively impact Aboriginal pregnant and/or parenting women. In this analysis, we focus on the concept of time as connected to four policy areas that emerged from the findings: historical trauma caused by discriminatory legislation, the family court system, the bureaucracy of child welfare, and the need for further research and long-term solutions.

Acknowledgments

Funding for this research project came from the Canadian Institute of Health Research. This article is dedicated to our Elder, the late JoAnn Kakekaish.

Creative Commons License

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

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