And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Date: Sat, 24 Jul 1999 15:39:13 -0400
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: Lynne Moss-Sharman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: OUR WAY HOME: repatriation report/adoption/foster impact
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FOSTER KIDS NEED HEALING HELP
Report focues on aboriginal adoptees, foster children,
birth families
Chronicle Journal Thunder Bay Ontario Kimberly Hicks 7/23/99
The adopted sons of Prime Minister Jean and Aline Chretien and of the late
Barbara Frum and her husband Murray Frum are two examples included in a
report on native adoptees. The report - OUR WAY HOME - is a "ground
breaking repatriation report on the healing process of aboriginal adoptees,
foster children and their birth families."
Produced by the Aboriginal Healing and Wellness Strategy and the province,
the report is a start for developing wellness and healing initiatives for
aboriginal people across Ontario, said co-chairman Garnet Angeconeb.
[contact in Sioux Lookout]
It addresses the issues faced by aboriginal people separated from their
birth parents through adoption, Crown wardship or foster care. Today, said
Angeconeb, many such people are searching for their biological families and
cultures. But, he said, they encounter barriers as they try to access
information from agencies like Children's Aid Societies and they have to
break down language and literacy barriers.
During the years between the 1950's and the 1980's, aboriginal children
were removed from their birth families by social service agencies in a
movement called the "Sixties Scoop", said Angeconeb.
"Many children were taken from their families for what appeared to be
family breakdowns," said Angeconeb. "These were communities where no
aboriginal programs were in place to address their unique and distinct
needs," he said. He said many were placed in southern Ontario and in some
cases outside Canada.
Michel Chretien and Matthew Frum have "tangled with the law" andf "shuffled
in and out of prison" said Angeconeb. "Despite their upper middle class
upbringings, they still had their shortfalls," he said. Interviews and
short stories of the experiences of adopted and fostered aboriginals are
included in the report along with their versions of the impact of being
taken from their families. "They have low self-esteem, lack of hope for the
future, and suffer an erosion of their culture, language and identity,"
said Angeconeb. Some dealt with their troubles and covered the pain by
using alcohol and drugs, and got into trouble with the law, said Angeconeb,
who compared the situation to the impact of residential schools.
The report has been sent to aboriginal organizations across the province
for review and to suggest directions in the healing process. Angeconeb
said there are too many people hurt to not deal with the contents of the
report. "It cannot be a report that is helved. We're dealing with adults
who have suffered traumatically. They need to be healed and it's incumbent
on aboriginal and non-aboriginal governments to address the issue."
"Let Us Consider The Human Brain As
A Very Complex Photographic Plate"
1957 G.H. Estabrooks
www.angelfire.com/mn/mcap/bc.html
FOR K A R E N #01182
who died fighting 4/23/99
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.aches-mc.org
807-622-5407
Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
doctrine of international copyright law.
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Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE
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