A new Tikinagan Chiefs Committee has been established to look at changes to child welfare programming in the region.
The proposal is called Niigaanshkaawin, which means “walking ahead or first to walk ahead.”
The goal is keeping Indigenous children and youth connected to their families, communities and culture.
The Sioux Lookout-based agency will consult with community members to transition child welfare leadership to a more supportive role in developing and and enacting their own child welfare laws that align with their community’s culture and history.
Executive Director Thelma Morris believes this could be the base for child welfare laws in Ontario and her dream is for each First Nation to have their own child welfare laws.
Morris notes the field of child and family services is changing dramatically and they have to keep pace and continue to be a leader.
Nishnawbe-Aski Nation Deputy Grand Chief Bobby Narcisse encourages member First Nation communities to work with the agency to ensure they maximize the resources at a community level.
