A group of Indigenous advocates is calling for reform in the child protection system, including at the Halton Children’s Aid Society (Halton CAS) where there will soon be a change in leadership, two years after the death of a 12-year-old boy in Ontario who was in its care.
“For far too long, Indigenous ways and traditions within child welfare practices have been denied,” making the system unsafe for Indigenous children, Sherry Saevil, a Halton resident and member of the collective, told reporters on Aug. 28 outside the southern Ontario region’s CAS building in Burlington.
The collective, which doesn’t have a formal name, includes Indigenous individuals who work for Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations, advocates for change, elders, and knowledge and wisdom carriers, said Saevil. Her family comes from Treaty 6 territory and her mother is from Mistawasis First Nation near North Battleford, Sask.
Saevil was joined at the news conference last week by collective members NaWalka Geeshy Meegwun and WhiteEagle.
NaWalka Geeshy Meegwun, a member of the Kettle and Stoney Point First Nations, said that for decades, Indigenous people have pushed for change at children’s aid societies, only to see the same issues persist. Following the 12-year-old’s death — which Halton police deemed a homicide — members of the collective engaged with the Halton CAS, said NaWalka Geeshy Meegwun.
Healing is not possible if child welfare does not work alongside its Indigenous community.– Sherry Saevil
The collective is again highlighting its concerns, as Halton CAS prepares for a new executive director, David Willis.
Following the news conference, Michelle McGaw, Halton CAS’s interim executive director, and Donna Miles, its director of diversity, equity and inclusion, told reporters the organization has been in touch with members of the collective and is open to future discussions.
WhiteEagle, who is from Moraviantown near Thamesville, Ont., said she is a Sixties Scoop survivor who grew up in the child welfare system, where she faced abuse, including violence and confinement.
“This is very personal because that little boy suffered,” she said about the 12-year-old.
In March, the boy’s prospective adopted parents were charged with first-degree murder and failure to provide the necessaries of life. In 2023, following an investigation into the treatment of a younger child in their care, police charged the couple with assault, assault with a weapon, forcible confinement, failure to provide the necessaries of life and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
The case is before the courts and subject to a publication ban.
CAS says it did internal review after boy’s death
Halton CAS was “devastated” after learning about the boy’s death, and “nothing is more important” to the organization than the safety of the children and families its members work with, McGaw said In a statement.
Halton CAS said it conducted an internal review after the death, and had a third-party reviewer examine “child safety and adherence to standards.”
CBC Hamilton asked McGaw for the results of those reviews, how Halton CAS incorporates Indigenous ways and traditions, and if she could point to any concrete actions that came out of discussions with the collective.
She declined to comment further, “given that the matter is still before the courts.”
Neither Halton CAS nor regional police have publicly identified the boy, though NaWalka Geeshy Meegwun said members of the community know his name and held a sacred fire for him. Following that ceremony, NaWalka Geeshy Meegwun said, members of the child’s biological family reached out privately to thank the wider Indigenous community.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action
Although Halton CAS is limited in what it can say publicly about the case, “what we can talk about is what needs to change so that this never happens again,” NaWalka Geeshy Meegwun said.
The collective points to a number of ways children’s aid societies could improve, including by adopting calls to action on child welfare by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that include reducing the number of Indigenous children in care, providing culturally appropriate services and creating national standards for Indigenous child welfare.
According to CBC’s reporting on the implementation of the recommendations, which were updated in April, the number of Indigenous children in care has not yet been reduced and it is unclear how many Indigenous children are in care. As well, the federal government, provinces and territories haven’t published annual reports on how many Indigenous children are in care.
Halton CAS wouldn’t tell CBC Hamilton how many Indigenous children are in its system.
Growing up, WhiteEagle said, she was forcibly disconnected from her Indigenous identity, something that shouldn’t happen today.
NaWalka Geeshy Meegwun said children’s aid societies have an obligation to ensure that doesn’t happen and should take steps to ensure Indigenous children they oversee can participate in their culture, including attending powwows or learning their traditional languages.
“We’re gonna help them along that process.”
The collective said part of their discussions with Halton CAS involved a tobacco ceremony, with which they formed a binding agreement to work together going forward.
“Healing is not possible if child welfare does not work alongside its Indigenous community,” Saevil said.