Advocates celebrate ‘big win’ in First Nations child welfare, urge renewed focus on youth | Globalnews.ca

Warning: This story deals with a disturbing subject that may upset and provoke some readers. Discretion Advised.

It has been more than 40 years since Melissa Walterson was separated from her biological family in Winnipeg.

The member of the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation was adopted by a white family and attended a predominantly white school. There, he said that he experienced his “fair share of lateral violence” and, to this day, he is still working to unlearn what he was taught about his “supposed place in this world.”

Walterson was wrapped in a blanket during a ceremony Wednesday at the annual general meeting of the Assembly of First Nations in Vancouver. She was joined by other representative plaintiffs in two First Nations child welfare class action lawsuits against the federal government.

Last month, the plaintiffs, AFN and Ottawa finalized a $20 billion settlement to compensate children and families who were discriminated against due to chronic underfunding of child welfare services on Ottawa reservations.

“I think our children need to be with our people,” Walterson told a crowd at the assembly. “Our children need to be protected from the difficulties I experienced.”

“This class action lawsuit is about our children, our families and our communities. This is what we are up against,” Karen Osachoff said through tears. “I love our people very much and I love who I am.”

Osachoff, whose birth name is Erin Faye Kahnapace, is also a representative plaintiff. The Pasqua First Nation member is Walterson’s sister, but the couple didn’t meet until two and a half years ago, only discovering through their own research that they had siblings.

“I felt like I belonged,” Walterson said of hearing Osachoff’s voice on the phone for the first time.

The $20 billion compensation deal is combined with another $20 billion pledged by Ottawa to reform the First Nations child welfare system over five years. It stems from a 2016 Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling, which the federal government spent years fighting in court, and represents more than a decade of hard work by countless families, advocates, lawyers and leaders.

Manitoba AFN regional chief Cindy Woodhouse, one of the deal’s main negotiators, described it as a “major victory” for First Nations peoples and a “precedent-setting human rights case”.

“I am grateful that those families will see some justice in this,” she told Global News. “Maybe they’re not going to resolve everything that they’ve been through the child welfare system, but I think this is a starting point and a point where it shows they’ve been wronged.”

She thanked her two young sons, Kyler and Kolt, for putting up with their mother’s frequent absence for months in order to support that critical work.

Multiple chiefs and proxies have said that child welfare – the health, well-being, livelihood and opportunity of all First Nations youth – is the most important topic of discussion at the AFN’s annual general meeting.

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In an impassioned speech, however, AFN Youth Council co-chair Rosalie LaBillois denounced the internal politics that have dominated the meetings to date, taking valuable time away from the archive.

“Every time you decide to fight each other, you forget about the children and young people you were once sworn to protect,” he told chiefs across Canada.

“Make no mistake, at this very moment there is a First Nations child crying for his mother, wanting to be taken back home to his family. I ask this assembly to think one more moment about all our children who need a voice in this world to defend themselves”.

LaBillois was New Brunswick’s representative on the historic delegation to the Vatican in March and April, which helped solidify Pope Francis’ reconciliation tour of Canada later this month.

A longtime member of the AFN youth council, she urged bosses, particularly those who have used child welfare in their electoral platforms, to think about how they are serving their little ones.

“The well-being of our people must always be at the forefront of our decision-making,” he said. “If you want to measure the results of your leadership, you have to look at our children.”

His comments received a standing ovation and later earned an apology from at least three bosses.

Since Tuesday, much discussion time has been allotted to concerns with leadership in the AFN, including the controversial suspension of national chief RoseAnne Archibald from the executive council.

Archibald had raised serious concerns about alleged corruption and financial irregularities within the organization. Four staff members had also filed workplace harassment complaints against him.

The national chief claims those employees requested more than $1 million in payments, which she refused to provide. Her complaints are now the subject of a human resources investigation.

On Tuesday, 252 of 278 bosses and managers overturned a resolution to continue Archibald’s suspension, which has been described as illegal. Forty-four chiefs and representatives abstained from that vote.

A resolution to hold a vote of no confidence in Archibald’s leadership was also dropped on Wednesday.

The national chief said she was proud of LaBillois for voicing her honest concerns about leadership from coast to coast, before hundreds of people at the caucus.

“I was a youth activist myself and my whole career has been about speaking the truth and sometimes speaking truth to power, so I support Rosalie,” she said in an interview.

Chiefs and proxies are scheduled to vote Wednesday on a resolution to reaffirm Archibald’s position as national chief and commission an independent forensic audit of the AFN, as well as a digital investigation into alleged communication violations within his secretariat over the past decade. .

The Hope for Wellness Helpline offers culturally competent counseling and crisis intervention to all Indigenous Peoples experiencing trauma, distress, strong emotions, and painful memories. You can contact the line at any time toll-free at 1-855-242-3310.