“So, we’ve been taken away since forever”: Indigenous Relative Caregivers’ Experiences as a Framework for Uncovering Coloniality in the Child Welfare System

Abstract

This study examines to the gravity of the ongoing removal and separation of Indigenous children from their families and nations, the reality of coloniality in the child welfare system, the glaring absence of Indigenous voices and their distinct experiences in the empirical child welfare literature, and dearth of studies that implement Indigenous methodologies. Grounded in Indigenous Storywork methodology, this qualitative study sought to understand (10) Indigenous relative caregivers’ experiences with the child welfare system. Findings identified specific forms of colonial violence inflicted upon Indigenous children and families by the child welfare system, such as ongoing removal and separation, as vehicles for colonization and assimilation. Relative caregivers also exposed how the child welfare system continues to impose the modern colonial gender system, continuing a legacy of government sponsored civilizing educations programs to assimilate through racializing and genderizing Indigenous families to justify violence and maintain power and control. Relatives’ lived experiences provide a framework for uncovering coloniality in child welfare in relation to continued control over family and gender.