Cowessess First Nation takes control of child and family services

Trudeau announced the federal government will invest $38.7 million over the next two years to support Cowessess as it implements its child and family services system. The Saskatchewan government is to provide protection services for Cowessess children off reserve until the First Nation’s system comes online.

“Every First Nation, Inuit, and Metis child should have the opportunity to grow up with their families and in their communities, so they can reach their full potential,” Trudeau said in a media release. “We are pleased to support Cowessess First Nation in exercising their jurisdiction to ensure a better start for their children.”

“By providing Cowessess First Nation with the jurisdiction and authority for child and family services, the children of Cowessess First Nation will have the opportunity to be raised in accordance with their own traditions and culture,” Moe added in a statement.

“This agreement will serve as a model for the rest of the country, and I commend Chief Delorme for his leadership in driving this initiative.”

The Miyo Pimatisowin Act was ratified in March of 2020 by Cowessess citizens “asserting our Inherent Rights for our children and families in need of help.”

“This responsibility is a part of the long-term goal of controlling our own plan to self-government based on our Inherent Rights and Treaty relationship,” Delorme wrote in a letter posted to the First Nation’s Facebook page.

Cowessess has been working for years to address the development stages of children from the First Nation, whether on or off reserve.

Last July, Delorme said the act was a way to ensure children are able to stay on track with their development “to ensure the next generation is going to be well-prepared for whatever the world brings us.”

“When you control your destiny, you have to focus on what matters most,” Delorme said at the time. “Cowessess, we are a very forward-thinking First Nation and we want to own (our child welfare system) and figure it out today.

“We own our history and we cannot sentence another generation or wait for the next generation to fix our issues.”

Delorme said the First Nation’s internal legislation addresses apprehension of children and prevention of families requiring such intervention by the child welfare system.

It also seeks to address inequality and socioeconomic conditions and implements Jordan’s Principle, which ensures all First Nations children in Canada have access to the products, services and supports they require. These include health, social and educational needs.

If children are not meeting the development stages they should be, Delorme said the band will step in to help.

“We have a lot of work to do and every day, we will roll up our sleeves to make sure that every child, when we call them home, that they know where home is …,” Delorme said Tuesday.

“They will dance, they will get their education and they will walk with their chin up and be a proud Cowessess citizen.”

Trudeau and Moe joined Delorme and other dignitaries on a tour of the cemetery on the site of the former Marieval Indian Residential School, where 751 unmarked graves recently were discovered during a search using ground-penetrating radar.

Trudeau said the discovery of those graves has been “a sorrowful reminder of the critical importance of supporting First Nations jurisdiction over the well-being of their children, youth, and families.” The co-ordination agreement with Cowessess, he said, was a step toward reconciliation in this country.

“Canada must acknowledge the truth, but we must also understand the truth,” Trudeau said.

by CJME News

Cowessess First Nation takes control of child and family services

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