b'INDIGENOUS MOTHERHOODAlthough the number of foster children in her family is often quoted as 250, Teedly thinks it must be much higher. For asFAMILY REUNIFICATION AS RECONCILIATIONlong as she can remember, foster kids would come in, oftenONWAs innovative Breaking Free from Violence Program from up North, to stay with her family for the school year.supports Indigenous women across Ontario in a culturally But knowing what these kids faced in their households, sherooted, holistic way, so that they are better able to navigate shared her home gladly. Wherever they came from, theycomplex systems encountered when experiencing involve-came from abusive homes, recalls Teedly. We made surement with child welfare. that our home was a nice place that they could trust and know they can come here and be well looked after, whateverChristine MacKay is ONWAs EVAIW Community their problems were. Mariea recalls a five-year-old boy whoDevelopment Manager. When it comes to family reunifica-showed up one day. He said, my grandmother told metion, she has seen firsthand how intergenerational trauma can come stay with you, else Ill get taken away. lead to intergenerational child welfare involvement. Often, it But their home wasnt perfect. Like many of the foster chil- goes back at least three generations. A lot of it stems from dren, the Linklater home was also touched by addictionherthe residential school system, notes MacKay. Parenting father battled alcohol addiction. Amidst the darkness of herskills were lost, families were disconnected.fathers alcoholism, her mother was a shining light. ImBy considering the whole family, Breaking Free Family really grateful that I do have a mother; shes so wonderfulSupport Workers help Indigenous mothers reclaim leadership and great, says Teedly. Her life has been interrupted withroles both in the family and community. Using a trauma-residential school and with drinking throughout her lifetime.based, gender-informed lens, workers provide concrete Mariea had also grown up with alcoholism in her family andsupport such as attending appointments with child welfare as a result she became committed to a drug- and alcohol-freeagencies, helping complete forms, and even accompanying lifestyle. Addictions can sometimes result from the complexthe women to court dates. impacts of intergenerational trauma, and Mariea made theOnce child welfare agencies see that a woman is being choice to break the cycle. Teedly comments: Im reallysupported by the Breaking Free Program, everything happy and grateful that she made that commitment to staychanges. Its a very different process for a mom when they alcohol-free, because I dont know what the repercussionsknow that she has solid advocacy support in place, explains would have been if she did drink with my dad. In the earlyMacKay. The child welfare agency feels more secure in the days, it was pretty hard living in an alcoholic home withplan of care. Often, reunification happens a lot faster with my dad. one of our workers in place.All three Linklater women emphasize that they avoid allMany women have reported that if it werent for the drugs and alcohol. But for Teedly, it took time to get there.Breaking Free Family Support Worker, their children would Being a child of alcoholism, I havent had alcohol sincenot be in their care today. For some, their gratitude goes even October 21, 1996, she says proudly.further. MacKay recalls a mother who was battling drug While Teedlys reaction to growing up with an alcoholicaddiction and living on the street while her kids were in care. father was to get clean for good, some of her brothers didntWhen a friend told her about the program, she was amazed follow suit, and the family is still dealing with the repercus- at how much the worker helped her. By building trust, the sions. My brother Patrick died in 2004, directly because ofworker got her into a treatment program. She was able to drugs and alcohol, Teedly recalls. So, we have to raise hisget clean, and the worker supported her to get her own son. Now his son has children, and my mom is raising herapartment, create a plan of care, and support her to get her great-grandchildren part-time. Just like Patrick, this is whatchildren back. our people have to deal with. For MacKay, breaking that cycle and bringing families back together after generations of child welfare involvement is a key aspect of reconciliation. Real reconciliation needs INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA to come from a holistic [approach that involves the whole] For the Linklaters, their strong family connections meant thatcommunity, she says. Patricks son did not have to enter the foster care system. Not all families are so lucky. In addition to fostering Indigenous children, Mariea has spent decades doing advocacy work on how child welfare systems negatively impact Indigenous communities. She always believed that our Indigenous people should have raised our own people, says Teedly.Indigenous children are frequently removed from the family when addictions are present, especially if the parents have had children taken away from them in the past. But Teedly doesnt think theyre asking the right questions. Theyre just all apprehended, but they dont look at the major problem, she points out. Why is this person like this? They dont understand the whole reason why. And I dont know if anyone could understand, because addiction is a pretty hard thing. Ontario Native Womens Association27'