Native child welfare kids must be heard

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EDITORIAL

It's good to see the government reacting positively to a report put together by a working committee regarding Native child welfare services.

And it's fitting to hear a member of the working committee say that, at all times during the child welfare study, the interests of the foster children themselves were kept as top priority ? not the interests of the adults or society in general.

This same committee member was the child of an alcoholic and left to run loose . . . and her childhood was often unsettled. "But, I knew my mother loved me. I knew who I belonged to." Years later, when put into a religious institute, she felt demeaned and humiliated. A sense of identity was lost.

It is important that a child feels a sense of belonging. He or she may be given all manner of schooling and material things, but if there is a disconnection with his or her roots, the child is not whole. To this end, every effort should be made to place Native children within their own environments, as the report recommends.

At the same time, if there has been a successful foster child-parent relationship outside of the reserve ? there does not necessarily have to be repatriation of that child back into the Native community.

Again, we must listen to the child, act according to what he or she feels. The child must have a say. His or her interests must remain first.