Truth and Reconciliation and Child Care . CUPE CHILD CARE ROUNDTABLE OTTAWA, ON September 27, 2016 Margo Greenwood, PhD Acknowledge the traditional ancestors and territories of the Miq’maw people
Colonial experience Dislocation Defined outside of self Residential school Reserve system Governance system Disease Indian Act
A colonial legacy Colonial legacy of: Language and culture loss Low socio-economic status High rates of substance use Over representation in the youth justice system Disproportionate number of children in the child welfare system Low education success rates High rates of suicide and injury Inaccessible health care services Significant gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal life expectancy and chronic diseases More children in the care of the state then there was at the height of residential schools Inordinately high suicide rates with the Inuit having one of the highest in the world Prime Minister recognizes the need for a new relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples of Canada
A new reality, a new relationship New Liberal Government Truth and Reconciliation United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Canadian Human Rights Tribunal 20th Anniversary of Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
Transforming relationships Two-eyed seeing “Take what is good and leave the rest behind” Change our narrative Knowing Learning Understanding Accepting the truth How does that play out in early learning and child care?
Early learning and child care … Ensuring the survival of a culture, of a nation ELCC anchored in an agenda of self determination Indigeneity cornerstone of policy and practice Engaging community, creating partnerships, shared decision making (UNDRIP Article 18 & 19) Policy making is not neutral free, it is socially constructed and infused with values and ideals Indigenous peoples are not victims but active participants in their lives It is a time of reconciliation of redressing the past We have a shared history yet a different history Our children offers us a way to ensure a different future
…Early learning and child care Building blocks for an ELCC system include the following principles: Universal Accessible Affordable Publicly funded and accountable Inclusive Public/not-for-profit programs Quality Other building blocks: Equity Relational and Holistic Diverse and Distinct Indigeneity Autonomy and self-determination
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