Indigenous Knowledge
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://knowledgedemocracydspace.com/handle/123456789/1072
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Item Fathering in the shadows: Indigenous fathers and Canada's colonial legacies(Sage, 2009-07) Ball, JessicaA study of Canadian Indigenous fathers' involvement conceptualized a temporal horizon within which to situate challenges and opportunities for caring for children following decades of colonial interventions that have diminished men's roles. Through five community-university partnerships, conversational interviews were held with eighty First Nations and Métis fathers in British Columbia, Canada. Using a grounded theory approach, a conceptual model was constructed identifying six key ecological and psychological factors that combine to account for Indigenous men's experiences of fatherhood: personal wellness, learning fathering, socioeconomic inclusion, social support, legislative and policy support, and cultural continuity. Indigenous fathers' accounts bring into focus systemic barriers to positive fathers' involvement, including socioeconomic exclusion due to failures of the educational system, ongoing colonization through Canada's Indian Act, and mother-centrism in parenting programs and child welfare practices. Policy and program reforms are suggested to increase Indigenous fathers' positive and sustained engagement with their children.Item Policies and practises affecting Aboriginal fathers' involvement with their children(Thompson Educational Publishing Inc., 2006) Ball, Jessica; George, RonThis paper, by Jessica Ball and Ron George, is based on interviews with eighty First Nations and Métis fathers in British Columbia about how government policy and everyday institutional practice shape their involvement with their children. Many fathers described coming to fatherhood slowly, after years shaped by residential schools, forced relocation, and child welfare removals that broke the passing down of parenting knowledge between generations. The paper outlines recurring barriers: confusion around paternity registration, parenting programs built around mothers, custody decisions that favour mothers by default, and a maze of overlapping federal, provincial, and First Nations jurisdictions; all made harder by poverty. It ends with a set of recommendations, including acting on the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples report, simplifying paternity registration, funding Aboriginal-led child welfare and father-support programs, and helping fathers pass on cultural knowledge to their children. The fathers' own words run through the paper, holding both the weight of being excluded and a quiet hope of being recognized as capable and needed.Item Early childhood care and development programs as hook and hub for community development: Promising practices in first nations(University of Victoria, 2004) Ball, JessicaThis report traces a year-long investigation into how Lil'wat Nation, Tl'azt'en Nation, and six First Nations of the Treaty 8 Tribal Association built their capacity to deliver early childhood care and development programs rooted in their own cultures and languages. Working with the University of Victoria's School of Child and Youth Care, these communities trained members through a two-year post-secondary program and went on to establish child-care and Aboriginal Head Start services on reserve. Four years after training ended, nearly all graduates were working in their home communities, and every program had grown, with waitlists and plans for expansion. The report follows what made these transitions succeed, from community-driven training design to long-term investment and strong governance. It also outlines the "hook and hub" model, where childcare draws families in and then connects them to wider health, cultural, and social supports, offering promising practices for other Indigenous communities pursuing similar goals.