Journeying With Youth: Re-Centering Indigeneity in Child and Youth Care

Abstract

It is difficult, given the societal and systemic realities within Canada, to have open and frank discussions about social inequalities and impacts of equity and diversity in lived experiences. In this article, I offer a frank discussion about re-centering Indigeneity within Child and Youth Care. The discussion focuses on the challenges associated with re-centering Indigeneity and is illustrated by personal reflections and the reflections of Indigenous individuals involved with a mentorship program for First Nations youth, By drawing upon Indigenous theorists (Alfred, 2009; Archibald, 2008; Black Elk, 1953; Ermine, 2004; Smith, 2012; Wilson, 2008) and grounding the discussion in lived realities, I provide readers with both a theoretically based and practical understanding of how Indigeneity can be re-centered within CYC and well as a consideration of whether this should be done and by whom. Particular attention will be paid to how mainstream Child and Youth Care can support such efforts while operating within a colonial state.

KEYWORDS:

• diversity
• equity
• indigeneity
• mentorship

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the First Nations community, the mentors and mentees for sharing their journeys with me. Thank you to the community members for their insightful comments on drafts of this article. The comments from the anonymous reviewers were also very helpful in strengthening this article—thank you. I would also like to thank the many Indigenous colleagues and scholars who have been so generous with their time and their sharing of their own stories. I have gained so much from the intersections between our journeys.

Notes

It is important to discuss language use within this article. As the term Aboriginal is a political and contested term (see Alfred & Corntassel, 2005), the terms Indigenous and Indigeneity are used throughout unless use of the term Aboriginal is necessitated by an original source. The term First Nations is also used due to original usage in source research and to recognize the community and the agency that developed the mentorship program.