Promoting Child & Collective Wellbeing Through Indigenous Connectedness

Jessica Saniguq Ullrich, Assistant Professor, Washington State University

Who I Am, Where I Come From

I am Inupiaq, a Tribal citizen of Nome Eskimo Community, a descendant of the Native Village of Wales, Switzerland, Germany and France, a mother of two amazing teenage daughters, an Assistant Professor at Washington State University in the IREACH program. I also identify as a social justice warrior, a survivor of child poverty and neglect, and I am a loving being on a learning journey. I started working in child welfare as a visitation supervisor in Spokane, Washington, then worked on the frontlines as a caseworker in Anchorage, Alaska, was promoted to an Indian Child Welfare Act Specialist position, and then supervised an Alaska Native family services unit before deciding to go back to school. I knew after 10 years of working in child welfare that there needed to be a different approach to addressing the multi-faceted issue of child maltreatment. I felt like there was something missing and we weren’t getting at the root of what was happening, and I wanted to do research to learn about what could be done differently so that children were not harmed by their parents or the system that intervened.

Indigenous Connectedness Framework

While I pursued my PhD in social welfare at University of Washington, I had to write a qualifying paper to advance to doctoral candidacy. I was mentored by my supervisory committee and guided by Tribal leaders to do a literature review on the ways Indigenous child well-being was conceptualized and how it was promoted (Ullrich, 2019). It wasn’t enough to study trauma, we needed to know what to do about it, and recover how to be healthy and well on our own Indigenous terms again. I came across an article that defined well-being in a way that I thought the child welfare system was missing. The People’s Awakening Team from Southwest Alaska defined connectedness as the interrelated welfare of a person, family, community, and the Earth (Mohatt et al., 2011). Many Indigenous scholars and communities had similar concepts of well-being. I drafted an Indigenous Connectedness Framework that was based on what I was learning from the literature to describe the importance of family, community, environmental, intergenerational, cultural/spiritual connectedness for child and collective well-being (Ullrich, 2019). This is the first draft of the Indigenous connectedness framework based on the literature review (Figure 1).

This symbol was used because it was in black and white photos of Inupiaq and Yupik ceremonial art and could help organize what I was learning about Indigenous well-being. It was encouraging to hear from my Yup’ik colleague, Elsie Boudreau, that this symbol represented the eye of awareness in her culture. In this Indigenous Connectedness Framework, the outer spokes represent the connectedness of relationships children should have, the blue outer circle represents the ways connectedness is built and maintained, and the inner circle represents the child well-being being supported by spiritual connectedness and collective well-being.

Lessons Learned from Indigenous Connectedness Research

To build off the well-being literature and the initial draft of the Indigenous Connectedness Framework, I collaborated with Facing Foster Care in Alaska and Alaska Center for Resource Families (Ullrich, 2020). Leaders from these community organizations helped me craft the questions asked, recruit knowledge bearers, and helped me think through the results of the study. I connected with 25 Alaska Native knowledge bearers to learn about child wellbeing and see if there were updates to the Indigenous Connectedness Framework that needed to be made. I interviewed 9 foster care alumni, 10 relative caregivers and 6 foster parents. I wanted to learn from this group because I believed what they shared could help improve Alaska Native child outcomes in the child welfare system.

While knowledge bearers spoke about relational actions that promote child well-being the most, what followed that was discussion of trauma and challenges that children faced. Using Indigenous storytelling as a research method, I thought about the main lessons that needed to be learned from the sacred stories that were shared. One lesson learned was how important it is to acknowledge the traumas and relational wounding that has happened to children. In many stories, the knowledge bearers shared how the child welfare system compounds the trauma through the process of child removal. Children are not only removed from their parents, many times they are also removed from their siblings, grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors, daycares, medical providers, teachers, schools, playgrounds, favorite toys, pets, culture, people who can teach them ancestral knowledge, and any sense of familiarity that helps them feel grounded and rooted in who they are as a relational being. If children feel disconnected from everyone and everything that they love, it can lead to feelings of being lost, or unsure of who they are This is a quote from a foster care alumnus that highlights the need for relational connectedness:

The importance for me is to know where I came from and to know who I am, and just being me, because in this world without my culture, and without my language, and without the stuff I know, I feel lost. Who am I? Was I supposed to be someone different? Then I should learn those things and it’s just really important to me to know that stuff so I can pass it down to my children, because it’s who we are. And it’s really important to have with us.

~Sarah (self-selected alternative name)

Too often child welfare interventions contribute to children’s feelings of disconnection from important well-being relationships. This can lead to feelings and beliefs that disconnect them from who they are and where they come from as an interconnected being. When children are no longer grounded in who they are, it can become a cycle of relational wounding and disconnection (Figure 2). Becoming disconnected can give way to beliefs or feelings of being completely alone, that we don’t matter, that the people we love leave us, that what we do doesn’t affect anyone else, that relatio¬nal harm is normal, that the best defense is an offense, that we must close and protect our hearts or that we must compete with one another to get by. While it is true that people experiencing trauma and disconnect need to adapt in order to survive, it comes with a severe cost to personal, interpersonal and collective well-being. These beliefs lead to unhealthy ways of relating to one another. This dynamic of disconnection needs relational repair and focused healing efforts at all socio-ecological levels.

The second main lesson learned from knowledge bearers’ stories was the need to build and maintain connectedness and relational continuity through relational actions. It’s not enough to co-exist alongside each other, or have a wish or a thought, we need to do something that helps people connect and know each other. Through relational connectedness we then have a shared responsibility to respect one another and maintain healthy boundaries while engaging in responsibility and reciprocity. One foster parent shared this quote that speaks to this point:

It’s not “it takes a village to raise a child.” It’s being connected to that community and knowing that if there’s an issue, that community will step in and help. I think that when you hear the phrase, “it takes a village to raise a child,” it’s easy to dissociate yourself from the responsibility of being able to connect with other individuals within the community…

~Kious (self-selected alternative name)

Many Indigenous cultural teachings and practices help people learn how to build healthy relationships with themselves, one another, with the Earth, and with the collective. One relative caregiver shared how the tradition of giving a Native name to her granddaughter was a sacred practice. The baby was named after a loved one who had passed and now the baby will inherit the good traits from the person they were named after. This Native name that the child received will help the baby build relational connections between extended family and community members, and it teaches the young person who they are in relation to an ancestor in the spirit world. One relational action and tradition can help build multiple connectedness relationships at the same time. The knowledge bearers shared hundreds of stories and examples of the ways relational actions, or mechanism of connectedness, can help children maintain relational well-being or heal from relational wounds if there’s been trauma and disconnection. This is why so many Elders and Indigenous community scholars have said that culture is medicine. Culture is a way of life, it’s a way of knowing, it’s a way of being in the world as relational beings. I believe the term culture is synonymous with spirit. The stories, teachings, ceremonial practices, gatherings, songs, dances, and clothing carry spiritual/cultural and relational meaning that strengthens and supports a child’s well-being. When children are well, so is the collective.

This led to the development of the third and final lesson learned from the knowledge bearers in this study; that being in right relationship with children can teach them important lessons in life that can help them develop a healthy ‘inner ecology’ (Kawagley, 2006). This is where it became clear how important it is for children to develop a healthy relational identity and internal connectedness with their mind, body, spirit, emotions, and whole being (Figure 3).

A child’s internal connectedness is influenced by the relationships they have with family, community, ancestors, and the Earth, this is represented by the outer spokes in Figure 3. Indigenous communities have teachings and practices that can help young people develop a healthy inner relationship with themselves. I believe this is why many Indigenous Elders have instructed younger generations to know who they are and where they come from.

When children know who they are a sense of awe, belonging, wonder, celebration, love, and power comes in that helps a person develop healthy relationships externally. We should encourage children to observe their dreams, examine their thoughts, question their perceptions, be creative with their ideas, nurture their bodies, expect and accept safe loving interactions, and trust that while everything is always changing, there is still something constant that can be counted on in life within them. Children are unique souls that need to express their authentic being within the relationships they have. Everyone connected with each child can help them develop a nurturing inner world and develop their gifts that they might share with others if we are lucky.

What I learned from the knowledge bearers was that who we are is more than the trauma we have experienced. We are not forever victims or people who harm others. We are not some oppressive social construct that makes us less than anyone or anything else on the planet. We are not only our emotions, only our bodies, only our minds, only our spirits separately. We are beautiful beings of love and light. We are our ancestors, family, community, Earth, spirit, and future generation all at the same time. Every person is an individual that is connected to a collective. This means when we are working with children, we are also simultaneously working with everyone and everything they are connected to. Child well-being is a shared responsibility. Connectedness relationships should not continue to be systematically severed in child welfare, or any system that interacts with children. It’s time for the systemic harm to stop. Until then, we must continue to teach our children how to be resilient to the social relational norming of trauma, separation, removal and disconnect.

Based on these important lessons learned, the Indigenous Connectedness Framework (Figure 4.) was updated to include an acknowledgement of the trauma and challenges that the knowledge bearers spoke about, which are represented by the red lettering on the outside of the circle. We need to keep trauma from becoming a mechanism of disconnection. That is not to say that trauma and challenges in life won’t happen, but they should be outweighed by the connectedness actions represented in the blue outer circle that can help build and maintain relationships despite the challenges and hardships. When connectedness is maintained, it can help a child develop a healthy internal connectedness and relational identity which is represented by the green inner circle.

Every person will have to grapple with difficult thoughts, feelings and aspects of ourselves that we don’t necessarily like, but this shouldn’t be our foundation, we need to ground ourselves in who we are beyond the trauma, pain or beliefs that keep us feeling powerless. We, as the adult relatives and community members in children’s lives are responsible for changing the societal policies, constructs, practices, and theories that guide our work. This transformative process requires that everyone do their part. Each of us must engage in processes of relational healing and repair because we’ve all been exposed to or have been a part of the disconnectedness process. It is time for the promotion of well-being to be our norm for all children again. Every child needs and deserves a sense of connectedness. This is where each specific person, family, community, organization, and context should fill in their own connectedness framework with their own knowledges, histories, pedagogies, stories, and cultural practices.

To transform and repair relationships, we must acknowledge the trauma and challenges we’ve experienced, take action to rebuild connectedness relationships, while simultaneously engaging in the development of our own internal connectedness efforts of knowing who we are and where we come from and what that uniquely means to ourselves. Our children, nor anyone else, should feel like they have to become someone they are not. Our children should not feel invisible. Our children should not have to be prepared for the real dangers of living in an oppressive and sometimes cruel society. Studying and living a life of connectedness can help us on our personal and collective healing journeys.

Qannukiaq Kaysi Piliuqpita? How Shall We Proceed?

My ancestral singing and dancing practices had been forbidden by missionaries for over 50 years. This made it so we are still in the process of recovering our songs and dances. The late Ernie Frankson, an Elder from Tikigaq (Point Hope, Alaska) had a library of Inupiaq songs that he knew. He was an amazing drummer and dancer. One day Mr. Frankson came to my Anchorage based Kingikmiut Dance group to give back one of our community’s songs that we were disconnected from. The song translated to ‘How Shall We Proceed?’ in English. The story of the song addressed a time of strife that existed between families within the community, and the community decided to come together and address the issues. It was a clear, calm, beautiful sunny day. The people put on their kamiks (boots) and gathered and danced. Relational healing took place. The community resolved the issues and moved forward in a good way. This is what connectedness is all about.

The questions we must ask ourselves and our community members, is how shall we proceed? We all have challenges we must face. The solutions are going to come from within us. We can make the changes necessary to get through our issues together. I believe that I am applying the Connectedness Framework as best I can in my life and work. I’m working with my Tribe on developing a connectedness curriculum to teach our community members our ancestral knowledge that is specific to us. Our hope is that this will assist with prevention and well-being efforts and that it might become an evidence-based practice down the road so that the Tribe can access Family First Prevention Services Act funding to support their program. I have presented on the Indigenous Connectedness Framework to the State of Alaska and shared some ideas on the ways it could be applied to child welfare. For example, case plans could be done differently to focus on relational well-being and bring in the extended family and community more to support the child and family. The way safety, permanency and well-being are understood could shift in relational ways. Maybe, instead of recruiting foster parents to care for foster children they could shift to fostering other families. Relatives and community members could be recruited to be stand-by safety plan participants. Perhaps relatives and community members could become ‘cultural’ teachers for children to help them maintain a sense of who they are and where they come from as a spiritual/cultural being. Connectedness could help Indigenize the five protective factors framework. Prevention and well-being policies could be developed and funding could be increased. Changing to a relational connectedness paradigm could lead to drastic and lasting changes in child welfare. Perhaps in pockets of the country where they are already seeing improved outcomes, evaluation could determine whether the success is due to the connectedness that exists within that community.

Change within child welfare needs to happen inside the system and outside of it. I believe that while connectedness can provide helpful guidance on ways to lessen the trauma for children in the system, we should build something entirely different to eventually replace that system altogether. Our kinship networks could be strengthened. Cultural healing practices and knowledge sharing could be the central focus to address mental health and substance misuse problems. I don’t know what building something new looks like exactly, but I’d love to talk with people about what the possibilities are and decide where to start. We are powerful cocreators with different gifts we can share to make this world a better place. So much unnecessary loss, pain and suffering could be prevented. Everyone is doing the best we can, given what we have been through, and every person is a guide and teacher on how to do this collaboratively in a good way. No one person can do it alone.

All of this research and learning has definitely influenced my life in amazing ways. My heart is healing. I have taken my power back and now I’m doing everything I can to plant seeds and share this knowledge with the hope and prayer that it can help our sacred children be themselves fully. The more each of us engage in relational repair and healing, the more potential we build for a healthier world. The work of each of us on our own healing has a ripple effect on collective well-being. I’ll never forget defending my dissertation and my daughter asking me if all grown-ups are children too because we have parents. She had a powerful point to make, the Indigenous Connectedness Framework is not only about children from ages 0-18, but all of us. She was also a powerful teacher for me when she made a meaningful painting for me on my 40th birthday. I had set an intention that day to heal my broken heart. She didn’t know that, but she intuitively gave me one of my first lessons that set in motion a powerful healing experience. Her piece of art reminded me that “love comes from the light inside” (Figure 5). Our children are sacred! It’s time to protect their well-being as much as we provide them with safety. Now is the time to have courage, face the challenges, use the relational practices that help us reconnect, and know who we are and where we come from. It’s time to fix the policies and practices that promote disconnectedness rather than connectedness. It’s going to take hard work to make these changes a reality, but I promise you, the effort will be worthwhile.

References

Kawagley, A. O. (2006). A Yupiaq worldview: A pathway to ecology and spirit. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.

Mohatt, N. V., Fok, C. C. T., Burket, R., Henry, D., & Allen, J. (2011). Assessment of Awareness of Connectedness as a Culturally-based Protective Factor for Alaska Native Youth. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 17(4), 444–455. http:// doi.org/10.1037/a0025456

Ullrich, J.S. (2020). Indigenous connectedness as a framework for relational healing within the Alaska Native child welfare context. ProQuest Dissertation Publication. https://digital.lib.washington.edu/ researchworks/handle/1773/45544

Ullrich, J. (2019). For the love of our children: An Indigenous connectedness framework. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 15(2), 121-130. https://doi. org/10.1177/1177180119828114