Aboriginal Advisory Group for Best Start Toronto

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Aboriginal Advisory Group for Best Start Toronto

• Presentation for Toronto Best Start Network
• June 19, 2008

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Aboriginal Community

• Aboriginal Identity refers to
• Inuit
• Metis
• First Nations on-reserve
• First Nations off-reserve

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The Future is Now

• We will raise a generation of First Nations,
  Inuit and Metis children and youth who do not
  have to recover from their childhoods.
• It starts now, with all our strength, courage,
  wisdom and commitment.
• Declaration of Many Hands, One Dream New
  Perspectives on the Health of First Nations,
  Inuit and Metis Children and Youth (Blackstock,
  Bruyere, Moreau, 2005)

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History

• First Nations have a historical relationship with
  the Government of Canada as founding members of
  Confederation
• This set of rights is held in the Constitution of
  Canada, section 35 which was repatriated in 1981
  and passed into law in 1982..as such the First
  Nations are not a minority ethnic group in this
  country. There are specific Indigenous rights
  that no Canadian citizen can claim.

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Historical Context

• The protection of these rights, the exercise of
  these rights, the enhancement of Indigenous
  languages and the diverse cultures of the First
  Nations is and always will be a priority in any
  development issue.

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Assault Against First Nations

• Colonization 1492-2008
• Military intervention against First Nations
• Biological warfare
• Genocide as a government policy
• Industrial schools in the early 1900s
• Residential schools from 1920-1980
• Sixties Scoop of Aboriginal children from their
  families and First Nations communities for
  adoption in the US and Canada

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Poverty

• Continued social policies of neglect are evident
  in Aboriginal child poverty
• 40 of urban Aboriginal children live in poverty
• 60 of the Aboriginal population is under the age
  of 30 years
• Highest rates of teen suicide, highest rates of
  incarceration, birth rates are 4X the national
  average
• Lowest educational attainment levels
• Aboriginal peoples occupy the lowest position of
  income level in the entire Canadian
  population..We are poor in our homelands

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Aboriginal Community in Toronto

• In 2006, 31,910 Aboriginal persons were living in
  the GTA. This is 2.7 of all Aboriginal persons
  in Canada and 13.2 of those in Ontario.
• From 2001 to 2006 the Aboriginal population in
  the GTA went from 23,950 to 31,910 persons, an
  increase of 33.2
• Consultations by the City with various agencies
  serving the Aboriginal community estimate the
  number of Aboriginal people living in Toronto to
  be between 60,000 and 70,000

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Aboriginal Children
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GTA Population
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Aboriginal Programs in Toronto

• Aboriginal Child Care
• Awashishuck
• Gizhaadaawgamik
• Under Development to be operated by Native
  Child and Family Services
• Kiiwednong-Fall 2008
• Ghesig House

• Aboriginal Head Start Programs operated by
  Native Child and Family
• Services
• Epnigishmok
• Kiiwednong
• Shaawnong
• Waabanong

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Aboriginal Programs in Toronto

• Summer Camps
• First Nations School
• Grundy Lake
• CAPC/CPNP
• Council Fire CAPC/CPNP
• Pre-Natal Programs
• Council Fire
• Native Child Family

• Family Support/OEYC
• Kognaasowin
• Native Child and Family Services OEYC Main site
  satellite
• Pimaatisiwin-Native Womens Resource Centre
• Council Fire First Nations Nurturing Program

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Aboriginal Advisory GroupGuiding Principles

• Members will be part of a Circle, with knowledge
  and expertise from varied perspectives on the
  integration of programs and services to meet the
  needs of pre-school Aboriginal children and their
  families in the City of Toronto. Aboriginal
  cultural, linguistic and political rights and
  needs will serve as a foundation for services
  that promote the following principles ..

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Guiding Principles

• Holistic approach to child development
• Empowerment of the Aboriginal family
• Understanding of Constitutional rights, treaty
  rights and Aboriginal rights
• Acknowledgement of the residential school
  experience and its generational effects
• Promotion of traditional Aboriginal values to
  build a strong sense of community

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Accomplishments Aboriginal Advisory Group

• Accomplishments 2007-2008
• Aboriginal Advisory Group formed and membership
  established with representation from agencies
  across Toronto who are directly involved in
  meeting the early education needs of Aboriginal
  children and their families in the City of
  Toronto
• There is also membership based on the traditional
  kinship system of Aboriginal people, such as
  Grandfather, Grandmother, Aunt, Uncle, Mother

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Accomplishments

• Regular meetings established
• Meeting held with Mary Anne Chambers former
  Minister of Children and Youth Services
• Mapping completed of Aboriginal families and
  services in Toronto
• Influenced locations of new child care programs
  being developed to serve the aboriginal community

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Accomplishments

• Terms of reference and guiding principles adopted
• 2008 work plan developed
• commitment from the City of Toronto to
  collaborate on a paper outlining the current
  child care system and how it relates to the
  Aboriginal community, highlighting issues facing
  the community in accessing child care, the needs
  of the community and recommendations for change.
  This will be included in the Child Care Service
  Plan for 2010-2014

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Accomplishments

• Membership on the Best Start Implementation
  Steering Committee
• Membership on the Community Engagement and
  Professional Development Working Group
• Representing the Aboriginal community on the city
  wide training planning committee with Humber
  College

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Key Activities for AAGBST

• Build Capacity in the Aboriginal Community
• Provide guidance to the ISC on the needs of
  Aboriginal children and families regarding the
  Best Start Plan Toronto Vision For Children
• To establish program integrity that is founded
  on cultural norms utilizing the teachings of
  Elders on a daily basis to promote language
  fluency, cultural values and role modeling.
• Language is Key to Culture

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Key Activities

• Focus Group Sessions with Aboriginal community to
  co-create all planning initiatives
• Provide recommendations to the ISC and Best Start
  Network to ensure programming and services for
  children that are linguistically, culturally and
  historically appropriate, education is the new
  buffalo for aboriginal children, in the past the
  buffalo met every need of food, shelter,
  education now meets every need in the new world
  and is essential for survival

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Key Activities

• Develop a media strategy to market services in
  the Aboriginal community
• Utilize consultation process to form ideas on
  preferred locations of services
• Identify gaps in services and prepare an update
  on current service in family support programs and
  early learning programs
• Design annual work plans to complement Best Start
  Network Action Plan
• Develop a demographic profile of the Aboriginal
  population in Toronto for use in planning for
  children in early learning programs

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Key Activities

• Develop a research protocol for working with
  Aboriginal community
• Educate Aboriginal families about the Child Care
  Subsidy system
• Identify and prioritize Aboriginal families in
  the child care system to better meet their needs
• Advocate for a Toronto Conference of Youth and
  families to look at child care issues
• Participate in the process of developing the
  2010-2014 child care service plan in the city of
  Toronto as it relates to the Aboriginal community
  
• Advise on professional development

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Barriers Challenges

• Resources
• Funding
• Profile
• Under-representation
• Human Resources
• Advocacy

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Summary

• Continue to Build Capacity
• Language is key to culture
• Address barriers and issues
• Ensure that the Aboriginal community is always
  represented in Torontos Vision for Children