Cowessess First Nation looks to bring home children in care

The Cowessess First Nation has taken a tangible step to getting children out of care and back to the First Nation.

On Thursday, a groundbreaking ceremony was held, officially starting the construction process for a new girls residence on the First Nation. The home is to be completed by July 1, with 10 girls to move in on Aug. 1.

On Friday, Cowessess Chief Cadmus Delorme told David Kirton on 980 CJME’s Saskatchewan Afternoon that the First Nation has an estimated 110 children under government care. The majority are in Saskatchewan, but some have been identified in B.C., Alberta and Manitoba. According to Delorme, one child from the First Nation is in care in the United States.

“A move like (building the home) is going to allow Cowessess to own the situation and work with our partners like the province and like ICFS (Indian and Child Family Services),” Delorme said. “We know … what we need to heal. This is a first part of our healing journey in this area.”

In November, the First Nation proposed building the home. The First Nation and Yorkton Tribal Council Child and Family Services signed a joint agreement and the plan moved ahead.

The Youth Transition Home will house 10 girls between the ages of 14 and 17 who currently are in long-term care with the Ministry of Social Services or First Nation’s Child Welfare Agencies.

“The toughest people to be in this country today are Aboriginal females, so we want to make sure that everybody has that opportunity,” Delorme said. “We identified (that) 14 and aging-out (of the child welfare system) females will be the first (cases) for this home.”

A community connections outreach worker will be hired to locate all of the Cowessess children who are in care. Delorme said that person will act as “a big brother or big sister” to the children who are in the new home or will help the foster parents of kids who remain in their current locations.

The outreach worker will call or visit the families to make sure that all is well.

“This individual is going to work with our foster families,” Delorme said. “Some of our children are in really good homes right now. We just want to be a part of their life, (to) let them know they’re from Cowessess and our history.

“Then some children have more challenges. Some of them have some real deep trauma that we have to help them with. This (hired) individual is going to identify the recommendation.”

Delorme said the First Nation’s hope is to build homes in Regina and possibly Calgary, with the goal to have no kids from the First Nation in care by 2030. He added they’ll either be living in one of the First Nation’s homes or they’ll be in a place where “they’re loved and have opportunities.”

“It doesn’t matter what race you’re from or what background or if you’re a Canadian or a new Canadian or First Nation — we all want our children to be dreamers,” Delorme said. “We want them to grow up knowing they could be a doctor, a bus driver, a police officer, whatever means that they want to do. Those are dreamers.

“But some of us in this country are survivors and we’re continuing survivors and some are inter-generational survivors. My role as chief is to help my people become dreamers and not survivors.”