Promoting Cultural Connectedness Through Indigenous-led Child and Family Services: A Critical Review with a Focus on Canada

  • Jessica Ball School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria
  • Annika Benoit-Jansson School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria
Keywords: cultural connectedness, cultural identity, child and family services, community self-determination, customary care, Indigenous child welfare, An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, Bill C-92

Abstract

There is consensus that quality services to Indigenous children and families involve the transmission, preservation, and promotion of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultural connections and must be delivered within specific First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultural frameworks led by Indigenous people. This view is expressed across research and service reports, in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 2015 Report and Calls to Action, and in the Government of Canada’s newly enacted An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (2019). This article reviews support for this viewpoint, drawing from primarily Indigenous scholarship and illustrated with reference to Indigenous-led services across Canada.

Author Biography

Jessica Ball, School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria

Full Professor

Child and Youth Care 

Published
2023-02-28
How to Cite
Ball, J., & Benoit-Jansson, A. (2023). Promoting Cultural Connectedness Through Indigenous-led Child and Family Services: A Critical Review with a Focus on Canada. First Peoples Child & Family Review, 18(1), 34-59. Retrieved from https://fpcfr.com/index.php/FPCFR/article/view/567
Issue
Vol. 18 No. 1 (2023)
Section
Articles