Working to keep families together

With a newly-formed prevention team, Usma is working to overcome distrust caused by the foster care system

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor

Port Alberni, BC - In recent years the number of youngsters being removed from their parents to live in foster care has dramatically declined – but this has not been the trend for Indigenous children. Data compiled by the B.C. Ministry of Children and Youth illustrates the disparity: In 2002 there were 10,049 children in care, including 4,273 Indigenous kids that comprised 43 per cent of the total. By 2019 the number of children in care had dropped to 6,263, with 4,111 Indigenous youngsters – a relatively unchanged Aboriginal total that accounts for 66 per cent of children and youth in the foster system. Alarms have been sounded locally and at a national level. In March 2018 the Huu-ay-aht First Nations declared a public health emergency, when it reported that 47 – or 20 per cent – of its youngsters were in care. In January of that year Jane Philpott, who at the time served as Canada’s minister of Indigenous Services, called an emergency two-day meeting in Ottawa to delve into the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children living in the foster system. Federal recognition of the problem led to the passing of Bill C-92, a law that recognises the jurisdiction of Indigenous governments and First Nations to determine their own child and family services. “It recognizes a simple truth: one size does not fi t all when it comes to Indigenous child and family services,” read a statement from Indigenous Services Canada. “Under Bill C-92, Indigenous communities and groups will be free to develop policies and laws based on their particular histories, cultures and circumstances. Free to move at their own pace to implement and enforce these policies and laws.” This had an eff ect on the national standard of practice, said Kelly Edgar, director of Usma Nuu-chah-nulth Child and Family Services. But since it was established in the 1980s, the Nuu-chahnulth agency has operated under the goal of preventing the removal of children from their parents and communities. While Edgar says that this is sometimes necessary for the safety of the children, Usma is now operating with additional funding from Indigenous Services Canada to support a full team tasked with preventing parents from getting to the point where their children are forcibly removed. The prevention team includes four family wellness staff , two connections workers, a youth outreach person, an elders’ navigator, a cultural coordinator, plus its leader Kevin Titian. “Prevention is rebuilding the aspect of the word Usma, getting back to its true meaning,” said Titian in reference to the Nuu-chah-nulth word. “The word Usma being precious one, being a precious gem of who you are as a human being.” “The prevention team itself is really a way for us to practice outside of the normal child welfare response, which is generally what Usma is being,” added Edgar. “Usma was put in place to be the Nuu-chah-nulth version of MCFD.” Currently 89 Nuu-chah-nulth children and youth are in care, 47 of whom are with extended family or other Nuu-chahnulth members, while two are living independently.

Photo by Eric Plummer Kevin Titian, who leads Usma Nuu-chah-nulth Family and Child Services’ new prevention team, stands with Director Kelly Edgar by their head offi ce in Port Alberni. The team is looking forward connecting with more Nuu-chah-nulth families when pandemic restrictions eventually ease.

“Prevention is rebuilding the aspect of the word Usma, getting back to its true meaning”

~ Kevin Titian, Prevention Team Lead

“That number, believe it or not, had decreased and is continuing to decrease,” said Edgar, noting that children are no longer separated from their families due to poverty – a practice that some still associate with the Ministry of Children and Family Development. “When we are presented with a family who might be experiencing homelessness or poverty situations, it’s always the goal to connect them to the resources and not to be doing that punitive kind of work.” Support for youth continues after they have aged out of care, up until the age of 27. This change in foster system support occurred over the last few years. Edgar said the needs for youth who have aged out of care have attracted more attention during the COVID-19 pandemic’s restrictions. “I think it’s becoming more talked about more since the pandemic, actually, because there’s this crisis,” she said. Overcoming distrust in the communities it serves continues to be a challenge for Usma, highlighted by a recent multi-day protest outside the agency’s Port Alberni offi ces in January. While she respects the rights of parents to express their opinions of Usma’s child protection measures, the agency is legally obligated to follow privacy laws regarding kids in care. “Everybody has a right to protest what they feel is important to them,” explained Edgar. “It’s not our place to engage with that, because it would not be appropriate.” But what they can do is develop relationships with Nuu-chah-nulth families in need of help, something that Titian and his prevention team are eager to explore once COVID-19 measures loosen to allow more personal contact. “I’m not a social worker coming into your community to take away your children,” he said. “I’m here to walk alongside.” A critical part of the 50-person department’s work are its ties to family care workers who live in or near Nuu-chahnulth communities along Vancouver Island’s west coast. These workers are employed by the local First Nations, not the NTC, to act as liaisons on child welfare issues. They develop close ties with families, an important asset in responding when a child’s safety is at risk. “Our fi rst call is generally to that family care worker to say, ‘Here’s the situation, this is what’s going on, can you provide safety through family connections for this child until we can come up and assess?’,” said Edgar, noting that this immediate connection to a child’s extended family is a diff erent response than a social worker showing up on someone’s doorstep. Beyond ensuring the immediate safety of a child, the prevention team’s goal is to help foster an environment of healing for the parents, attending to issues such as addictions, anger management or the eff ects of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Titian has seen trauma stretch back multiple generations to the institutionalized harm of the residential school system. “A lot of that leads to misuse of alcohol and drugs,” he refl ected. “Instead of them being powerless to alcohol and drugs, really they’re powerless to what their grandparents have endured and what their great-grandparents have endured with generational trauma. They become powerless to that without realising that they’re in a state of continuation of the chain of events.” To break this cycle, Usma off ers women’s and men’s groups for parents, while a parenting program incorporates traditional Nuu-chah-nulth teachings. The intent is to foster a deeper sense of belonging that some parents never knew. “A lot of our clients that we work with, their identity of who they are is very limited,” said Titian. “To really implement the aspect of culture, the aspect of connection to mother earth, the aspect of connection to creator and ancestors - a lot of our families in our communities that we have connected with, they’ve had that loss of connection. So by bringing that back to them, it’s implementing change and awareness for them.” “When you empower our community and our people with identity, it plants a seed within them to want more,” he added.

Photos by Melissa Renwick

Chris Seitcher, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation cultural support worker, cleanses himself with sage inside his home in Ty-Histanis in February.

Building a foundation by le ing go of the past

Tla-o-qui-aht plans for a drop-in program where men can grow through ceremony and cultural learning

By Melissa Renwick Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ty-Histanis, BC - For the maj ority of Steve Howard’s life, he lived by the phrase, “real men don’t cry.” “Back in my day we were always taught not to cry,” he said. “We were always taught not to feel. So, we grew up kind of tough. Whatever we held in, we kept in.” It’s a mindset that the Tla-o-qui-aht man is trying to shift by encouraging his four sons to openly share their feelings. And yet, his past traumas of physical, mental and sexual abuse continue to hold him back. “We all have troubles and we all have fl aws,” he said. “We don’t share our stories. Sexual abuse is a really big thing that happened to First Nations people – not just in Tla-o-qui-aht, but all over Canada and the United States. We as men don’t express that feeling of being raped, not just by a priest but by [our] own family members.” Noticing a gap in men’s support, Howard, Chris Seitcher, Dwayne Martin, Craig Devine and William Goodbird formed a men’s group and started hosting informal men’s circles in Ty-Histanis in the Fall of 2017. While they noticed options for women, youth and elders, there wasn’t a place for men to come together. For Howard, the men’s circle provided him a safe space to share his story without fear of judgement. In turn, he encouraged the men around him to “feel strong enough to express who they are.” “Everybody’s story helped my journey,” he said. “It’s the growth of knowing that I’m not alone in this world.” In those early stages, the men’s group struggled to host regular circles because they didn’t have a consistent space to gather in. The setback meant attendance was scarce and yet its impact started to pulse throughout the nation. “One of the key things that we noticed was it started a conversation in and around the community,” said Devine. “These men would [return] home from our men’s gathering and be totally high as a kite on the good vibe of everything. They brought that energy back home

“If we are able to truly work on ourselves and truly heal, we are able to be in the moment”

~ Chris Seitcher, Cultural Support

Worker connected with the people that we meet and talk to – with our families and loved with them and their wives noticed it and ones. We won’t sit with the things that their kids noticed it. We started really were done in the past. We won’t sit with wanting to build on that.” the hurts that have happened in the past. Eventually, the group of volunteers It will come up – those hurts and those secured a space within the nation’s pains – but we have to allow it to fl ow health centre and three to 18 men started through our bodies so that we can let it regularly attending. Through sweats, go.” brushings, singing, drumming and talk- As momentum started to build, the First ing circles, the group aimed to integrate a Nations Health Authority stepped in last more ancestral approach to dealing with year and provided a signifi cant amount of trauma. funding for the group. “We communicate our emotions in a Despite being unable to gather due to diff erent way, or the way that we were COVID-19 restrictions, Seitcher, Devine taught,” said Seitcher, Tla-o-qui-aht and Naomi Seitcher, Tla-o-qui-aht First First Nation cultural support worker. Nation community services manager, “Sometimes expressing them will come have been working to formalize the out through yelling, swearing or causing group, which has been named, ƛ̓iik̓pitap harm to another person.” taqumł. While there is no excuse for that be- Levi Martin off ered the name, which haviour, Seitcher said the men’s group is means “to build a solid foundation for the trying to shift those forms of expression community.” through connection and ceremony. “It always makes me feel good when “If we are able to truly work on our- people are wanting to do something to selves and truly heal, we are able to be make changes in themselves, in their in the moment,” he said. “We are able to families and communities,” he said. live for today. We’re able to see and be They landed on the name because the structure of a house cannot stand without the foundation, said Seitcher. “Each one of us in the community can be that foundation,” he said. “If one person heals, the hope is that the next person heals too. If we heal as a community, the next generation will be that much better off .” By letting go of the past, Seitcher said the community will be able to “move forward in a good way.” Looking ahead, ƛ̓iik̓pitap taqumł plans to provide a drop-in program in a consistent space where Tla-o-qui-aht men can grow through ceremony, health programming and cultural learning. By supporting men in their healing journey through connection, Howard said the men’s group is a tool “to speak your mind.” “A lot of us are too scared to speak,” he said. “But once you learn how to speak, then you learn how to stand. And once you learn how to stand, you learn how to walk. It’s learning how to move forward again.”

With an estimated cost of up to $25 million, the multi-fl oor facility would be in a vacant lot near the waterfront

By Karly Blats Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor

Port Alberni, BC - Members of Port Alberni city council are in support of a proposed Nuu-chah-nulth Cultural and Interpretive Centre for the Alberni Valley. Mary Mason and Joel Marriott of Owls Path Foundation, Denise Young of Tigers Eye Advisory Group and Scott Jeary with the First Nations Education Foundation presented the plan to city council at a regular meeting on Feb. 22 seeking support. The proposed multi-level facility would include space to showcase Nuu-chahnulth artifacts, local artists, retail space and cultural events. The centre could also be used to host meetings, workshops and celebrations. “Each fl oor will have something diff erent to off er. The bottom two levels of the building would be for undercover parking…the next fl oor up would be a public market that would have a fi sh selling opportunity in it for local fi shermen with merchant retail spaces as well,” Mason told council. “Another fl oor would have offi ce spaces and a board room for rental options. The second highest level would be a cultural interpretive museum, and that would be a place to showcase Tseshsaht and guest nations’ art, culture and history.” Mason said the top fl oor of the building would be used for conventions and have the capacity to hold approximately 1,000 people. The group’s ideal location for the cultural centre would be in a vacant parking lot adjacent to Jack’s Tire on Kingsway Avenue, but they’re also looking at other spaces. The group has received support from the Tseshaht First Nation and are still waiting to hear back from the Hupacasath First Nation. With no permanent hub in the Alberni Valley to showcase history and culture of the 14 Nuu-chah-nulth nations, the group says the proposed centre would provide valuable and authentic information to visitors about the history, government and cultural practices of Indigenous people. The estimated cost of the project is $20-

Photo by Eric Plummer An unused parking lot near Port Alberni’s Harbour Quay is being considered for a proposed multi-level, multi-purpose Nuu-chah-nulth cultural centre. Mary Mason and Joel Marriot recently presented the idea to Port Alberni city council. $25 million. The group recommended that each of the 14 nations buy into a co-operative using a percentage of their gaming revenue to ensure the day-to-day operating costs of the centre are covered, which would give them access to use the centre’s rental facilities. Other revenue streams would include visitor fees, gift shop revenue and venue rental fees. Moving forward, the group would be looking to fund the project through grant opportunities, membership buy-ins, donations, fundraisers and sponsorships. Mayor Sharie Minions said the cultural centre is a “beautiful concept” and that she’s thrilled someone is working on it. She said the city will look into appointing either a member of council or city staff to an advisory committee to continue working closely with the group as plans progress. Minions said her main concern was that the group hadn’t yet received support from the Hupacasath First Nation. “It sounds like you’re working closely with Tseshaht which is fantastic, but for projects within the city and the traditional and uncededed lands of Tseshaht and Hupacasath, we like to see really strong engagement and support from both nations, not just one,” Minons said. “Also the preferred piece of land (next to Jack’s Tire) the city doesn’t own. So we can’t help give land that isn’t ours, but overall I think this is a fantastic concept you’ve come up with.”

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