MIYO-OHPIKĀWASOWIN – RAISING OUR CHILDREN IN A GOOD WAY: DISRUPTING INDIGENOUS CHILD REMOVAL SYSTEMS THROUGH KINSHIP CARE IN NORTHERN SASKATCHEWAN

Abstract

This thesis explores Indigenous overrepresentation within Canada’s Child Welfare System through a case study analysis of the disruption to that overrepresentation evident in the Lac La Ronge Indian Child and Family Services Agency (LLR-ICFSA) in Northern Saskatchewan. Drawing on four months of fieldwork, 23 interviews, agency documents, and an extensive literature review, this thesis critically assesses the role of cultural continuity in disrupting out-of-home care placements and permanent ward designations in the communities served by the LLR-ICFSA. The key findings of this thesis indicate the LLR-ICFSA is engaged in regionally specific cultural philosophies and practices that are effectively reducing the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in out-of-home care placements and permanent ward designation in the communities they serve. This thesis argues that the LLR-ICFSA’s approach demonstrates a quantifiable disruption to the pervasive pattern of Indigenous child removals that occur under the Canadian state. Through thematic analysis this thesis situates the research findings within the larger landscape of Indigenous survival and resurgence under the Canadian settler state project. Significantly, the LLR-ICFSA provides a model from which to develop best practices for Indigenous child welfare in Northern Saskatchewan.