Sunday, November 21, 2010

We must never forget.

We must never forget that our children are still being abused and are dying in care of foster parents.

We remember Katelynn Angel Sampson

Photo taken at Parkdale Public School, November 20th 2010.

Katelynn Angel Sampson died from severe abuse while in foster care.

This abuse and death should have never happened.

Changes need to be made so that our children do not suffer or pass away while in foster care.

APTN links on Child welfare issues in the Native community

These three links contain very informative video news items on the issue of residential schools, the 60's scoop and the Child welfare issues that Native people and their families still face today.

Miigwetch.

http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2010/11/19/perspectives-on-child-welfare-

jurisdiction/http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2010/11/17/perspectives-on-child-welfare-

devolution/http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2010/11/16/perspectives-on-child-welfare-60s-scoop/

Monday, November 15, 2010

March for child welfare issues-Thursday, November 25 • 11:00am - 3:00pm

We are meeting at Queen's Park Circle, Toronto.
More info posted, keep checking back with the blog.

A bit more info:
This Peaceful march is a call out to all supporters, warriors, leadership and community members for accountability and changes to the subsequent attacks on native people in this society.
We want Children's Aid Society off our communities & reserves and these agencies replaced by our own services as developed by our own people both on/off reserve level.
Do our First Nation leadership have control of these programs?
No, so we demand answers.

Since the shameful introduction of residential schools in the 1800's, the Canadian government and various agencies across Canada have done everything they could to remove Native children from their birth families, and place them in non-native foster/adoptive homes. 
The homes that our children were placed in were often abusive and dangerous. 
As these children were not raised by their own families, these children were robbed of learning their traditions and their languages.  These children were denied the important building blocks of their culture, language and traditions.

During the 1960's, so many children were taken from their homes that this era was coined "The 60's Scoop".

Many may not know that this unfair treatment of our Native children continues to this day.
Sadly, there were more Native children in non-Native foster/adoptive homes at the beginning of 2000, than there were at the height of residential schools & the 60's scoop put together.
We are now in the era of the "Millennium Sweep".

Native children deserve safe homes, with Native or non-Native families who understand their cultural needs and families who are not just there to receive a foster-parent cheque or to abuse/neglect these children.
We can rally peacefully to ask our leaders why our children are still being apprehended and placed in the care of the Children's Aid Society and why no other alternatives are actively being looked into.

We have strong voices that deserve to be heard.

Together we can make the decisions on how to take care of our children, and help heal the families that were broken by the residential school atrocities, the 60's scoop and the Millennium Sweep.
Together, we can make positive, peaceful changes.


On the day of the march, please dress warm!

Please note that this is a peaceful march, we want to peacefully bring attention to these issues and not see anyone get injured.

Chi Miigwetch.