Throughout this course in aging one of the topics that has come up time and time again has been the concept of care giving, particularly the topic of caregivers providing care for their elderly family members and how this often leads to caregiver burden and burnout. Because the topic of care giving is such an important one I chose to further investigate this topic for the purpose of this blog entry. However instead of focusing on younger caregivers providing care for their elderly counterparts I have decided to focus my attention on the role that Aboriginal grandparents play in proving care for their grandchildren and the corresponding issues that are associated with this. Throughout my research on this topic it became apparent that over the past twenty years there has been an increase in the number of children living with their grandparents. In fact Thomson (2005) indicates that from 1991 to 2001 there was a 20% increase in the number of Canadian children living with their grandparents without a parent present in the home. This same research indicates that Canadians of First Nations origin are vastly overrepresented in these findings. The tradition of Aboriginal elders acting as caregivers for their grandchildren not only has deep and rich historical roots but it also has a number of consequences for Aboriginal elders who either by choice or by consequence is taking over the responsibility of caring for their grandchildren today.
In order to understand the contemporary context in which care giving occurs it is important to have at least a little bit of understanding as to the traditional roles that Aboriginal grandparents played in the lives of their grandchildren. According to Thomson (2005) Aboriginal grandparents have traditionally played important roles in providing physical care for their grandchildren as well as acting as wise advisors and keepers of cultural tradition. Weibel-Orlando (2009) uses the Sioux of the United States as an example of this. Because there has traditionally been a clear division of labour between Sioux men and women (as with most Aboriginal groups) men were often absent from home for long periods of time leaving Sioux women to not only care for their children but to take on other work responsibilities such as preparing hides and curing meats. (Weibel-Orlando) Because Sioux women were left with a large amount of responsibility this meant that the unci (a Sioux word for grandmother) would step in take on the role of providing care and enculturation. Although this is just one snapshot amongst many different tribes of Aboriginal people throughout the States and Canada the general consensus is that this would have been the way of life for most Aboriginal people. It is believed that these traditions are what helped solidify the tradition of grandparents providing at least some form of care for their grandchildren.
Today there are a variety of different reasons that lead to Aboriginal grandparents providing care for their grandchildren. Many of these reasons continue to be because of the positive cultural presence that Aboriginal grandparents provide for their grandchildren, but this has become increasingly challenging because Aboriginal youth are bombarded with mainstream cultural alternatives to Aboriginal traditions. (Weibel-Orlando, 13) In addition to the cultural guidance that elders provide to their grandchildren there are also a number of other factors that contribute to Aboriginal elders providing care to their grandchildren. Many of these reasons and there consequences will affect Aboriginal seniors and will ultimately affect our work as social workers.
Thomson (2005) points out that many Aboriginal grandparents provide care for their grandchildren as a response to a crisis situation such as an alcohol or drug addiction or due to the imprisonment of the child’s parent/parents. This in turn puts an extra amount of burden onto the grandparent, not only are they caring for their grandchildren, but they are also concerned about the wellbeing of their own child who may be in crisis at the same time. Some of the additional negative effects that are identified by Thomson (2005) include lower levels of life satisfaction as well as higher rates of depressive symptoms amongst grandparents caring for their grandchildren.
As a soon to be social worker I am a concerned about the effect that these negative factors will have on Aboriginal seniors and how this is compounded with the issues that we already know are facing the Aboriginal population in general including poverty, unequal access to housing and various health issues including diabetes. According to Thomson (2005) Aboriginal households consisting of one or more grandparent and grandchildren earn approximately $ 2000 less than other Aboriginal families. Caring for grandchildren will undoubtedly put a large amount of pressure on grandparents who were most likely struggling with financial and other issues in the first place. As a social worker I believe it will be important to provide support to our clients who may be in this situation and to potentially even take on an advocacy role for our clients to address the structural barriers that may be standing in the way of their access to financial and other community resources and supports.
One of most important things that we can learn from Aboriginal grandparents is the concept of resilience. Despite the numerous financial and emotional costs associated with raising grandchildren Aboriginal grandparents continue to take on the task of caring for their grandchildren whether on a short or long term basis. If we are looking at this issue from a strengths perspective it becomes clear that Aboriginal grandparents are acting selflessly are trying to act in the best interests of their family. As social workers we should strive to embrace these motivations and work to reduce the negative impacts that providing care for grandchildren has on Aboriginal grandparents.
Kendall
References-
Fuller-Thomson, E. (2005) Canadian First Nations Grandparents raising Grandchildren: a portrait in resilience. International Journal of Aging and Human Development 60 (4) 331-342.
Weibel-Orlando, J. (2009). Grandparenting styles: The contemporary American Indian experience. In J. Sokolovsky (Ed.), The cultural context of aging (3rd ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
