Honouring Our Kookums

1. Honouring Our Kookums Carrie Bourassa, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Indigenous Health Studies Dept. of Science First Nations University of Canada

2. “We are like trees. Our roots are put down very deep. And we take things from the four directions and we take them into our lives. And if you pull us up by the roots, we are lost. We have to go back and find those roots, find those beginnings that are strong so that we can live a good life”. • Elder Betty McKenna, 2005.

3. The roles of Aboriginal women have changed as a result of colonization. • Identities have been shaped by the Indian Act and colonization processes including Residential Schools. • The attempted assimilation (cultural genocide) of Aboriginal peoples continues to impact all Aboriginal people today but women in particular.

4. Defining Aboriginal People • Between 1876 and 1985 one’s “Indianness” was traced through the male line. • Indian women who married non-Indians ceased to be Indians under the Act. • These women were not Indians according to the Act but neither were they considered to be Canadian citizens between 1876 and 1960. • Indian men could not lose status through marriage, in fact, if they married non-status women, those women GAINED status under the Act.

5. A Revision to the Indian Act • In 1985, the Act was revised because it conflicted with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. • The revision exasperated rather than repaired the problem. • Although assimilation was “officially abolished” in 1973, many consider assimilation policy to be alive and well. • Consider the following chart:

6. “Indian Act Math” • 6 (1) – means you had Indian status in 1985 • 6 (2) – had to apply to regain status in or after 1985 • 6 (1) + NS = 6 (2) • 6 (2) + NS = NS • BUT: • 6 (1) + 6 (2) = 6 (1) • 6 (2) + 6 (2) = 6 (1)

7. Effects of Colonization • We know Aboriginal women in general are the most impoverished, vulnerable group in Canada. • Our research team and community members we worked with in Regina identified Aboriginal Grandmothers or “Kookums” as being particularly vulnerable to poverty, ill-health and marginalization. • We decided to develop a community-based research project that would try to meet some of the needs the kookums identified.

8. Grandmothers Caring for Grandchildren • Grandmothers caring for grandchildren is a support network that began as a research project. We hold monthly gatherings with grandmothers caring for grandchildren and community members. Here, grandmothers participate in talking circles led by Elder Betty McKenna or gather together for tea. We recently completed 14 interviews with grandmothers caring for grandchildren.

9. Research Team • Funded by SHRF • The principal investigator of the research team is Dr. Wendee Kubik, U of R. The co-investigators are Kerrie Strathy, Director of the Seniors Education Centre. • Four Directions Health Centre, the Seniors Healthy Living Program, FASD Support Network of Saskatchewan Inc., and Regina MétisSports & Culture Inc. • Elder Betty McKenna

10. This support group is shaped in order to be culturally appropriate and accessible for Aboriginal grandmothers caring for grandchildren. At the same time, it includes non-Aboriginal grandmothers caring for grandchildren • This research project is specifically examining Aboriginal grandmothers’ experiences raising their grandchildren.

11. Traditionally, child rearing was a role of Aboriginal grandmothers. In recent years, there has been an increase in grandmothers raising grandchildren. • Aboriginal grandmothers are more likely to be caregivers for their grandchildren • Very few studies have addressed the needs of Aboriginal grandmothers.

12. Research Process • Fourteen grandmothers were interviewed by students who had gotten to know them through attending the talking circles and gatherings. • The result of these interviews will be a research proposal submitted to one of the major research funding agencies in Canada.

13. Preliminary Results • Most grandmothers interviewed are financially struggling to provide for their household and all of their families needs. • Grandmothers said that they do not have the energy they did when they were younger. This makes it harder for them to care for their grandchildren. • Several grandmothers have health concerns, such as: chronic diseases and/or mobility limitations.

14. Preliminary Results • Grandmothers said that their stress levels were varying or moderate. • These grandmother’s stress was caused by health of family members, family members’ behaviors and finances/going into debt. • Many grandmothers stated that they were in need of financial support for their families. • Some grandmothers are in need of social support. • Some grandmothers need access to respite care for their grandchildren.

15. For some grandmothers, caring for their grandchildren allows them to reclaim their traditional role and symbolizes the decolonization of Aboriginal family structures. • However, policies and supports must be put into place to allow grandmothers and grandchildren to reach their optimum health and well-being. • The long-term goal of this project is to do just that, influence policy so that supports are put into place to support grandmothers caring for grandchildren and other family structures that are currently systematically marginalized.

16. Thank you to … • Thank you to Elder Betty, all the Kookums, community partners, Seniors’ Education Centre, and our great students – especially Holly McKenzie.

17. Questions? • Contact: • Carrie Bourassa • 790-5950 ext. 3331 • cbourassa@firstnationsuniversity.ca