Centering a Métis grandmothers’ knowledge: story of grandmothers’ teachings and Métis child welfare in B.C.
Date
2021-07-29
Authors
LaFrance, Shelley Angela
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Abstract
Despite decades of evidence in Canada of injustices involving child welfare systems and outstanding recommendations, the overrepresentation and harm to Indigenous children, youth, and families remain (Blackstock, 2011, 2016). The literature reveals a need to build on Métis-focused research related to child welfare systems including noticeable gaps in the voices and knowledge of Métis grandmothers and mothers. This thesis centers on a Métis grandmother's story and my own experiences as a Métis social worker in relation to child welfare experiences within the framework of Métis kinship care and mothering.
Through storytelling and autoethnography, I addressed the following research question: How can the lived experiences and teachings of a Métis grandmother and Métis women enhance social work practices for social workers, community members, as well as organizations and agencies that serve Métis children and families? Significantly the findings in this study reveal the ways that Métis grandmothers and mothers carry inherent knowledge about child, family, and community care, utilize resistance strategies in their experiences with child welfare, and explore the social work implications that can disrupt colonial systems to inform agency and community responses.