Are Canadian Indigenous children protected from being adopted by non-Indigenous people in Canada?

BY PAUL JUNOR

There was international attention focused on the Sixties Scoop. This occurred in the mid-to late 1950’s and continued during the 1980’s when approximately 20,000 Indigenous children were removed from their families and forced into foster or adopted homes of White middle class families. The legacy of this travesty still remains, and the federal government has approved financial compensation to the families of over $40 billion.

These adoption programs were not simply meant to place Indigenous kids with White families, but to provide them permanent homes.

An interesting article that was printed in The Guardian on Sunday, June 18^th, 2023, focuses on the case of a White couple, who challenged an adoption law that protects Native children in Texas. The couple believed that they were racially discriminated against when they encountered barriers in their attempts to adopt a Navajo child. Their case went all the way to the US supreme court and the couple was supported by rich corporate interests, and non-Native families who felt they had reasons to fight. They hoped that the court would overturn the Indian Child Welfare Act. In this legal challenge the rights of individuals were pitted against the rights of the Indigenous people and attempts were made to overturn the Indian Child Welfare Act.

According to the Brackeens, “The law privileges Indians as a race over others, including White families, and is therefore unconstitutional.” The couple argued that they were discriminated against because of “reverse racism,” in which case they felt they were in effect discriminated against and thus were harmed.

The main purpose of ICWAS was to ensure that the practice of Native children being separated from their families when White families adopt them would come to an end. The law guarantees that federally recognized tribes have a say in their children’s futures by keeping them with Native families. Those determinants are not based on race but on the political status of tribes and rights of their members.

The court ruled against the Brackeens and maintained the continuance of the ICWA.

This issue of the adoption of Indigenous children not just in the United States, but also in Canada has been brought to the forefront. There are concerns expressed as to what will happen to these children who will be at the mercy of those who may not have their best interests in mind. The fact that children in Canada and Ontario who are taken in care costs $350 per day is problematic as the care parents may not necessarily provide the nurturing, helping and encouragement they need. These children in care run the risk of having to be outside the home waiting for the working parents to return, which increases their chances of being at risk on the streets.

There are concerns expressed regarding the financial remuneration involved as care parents who may have full-time employment and/or businesses during the day are able to accommodate up to four children on bunk beds in a single room and thus the potential for making thousands of dollars without Children Aid Society of Canada Revenue Agency auditing them.

Many think it is reasonable that, “Black, Caribbean, and Indigenous children should only be cared for, or adopted by same race families. What is the problem Caucasian people in Canada, and Children’s Aid workers? Would you rather give non-caring parents lots of money, instead of placing children with parents of their individual cultures?

Is this a form of ethnic cleansing? A hope these coloured children will be ingrained with non-cultural attributes weaned away from their own.