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.
Kendall, your commentary on the resilience of Aboriginal grandparents brought to mind a woman I have had the pleasure of meeting through my placement. This woman, Mrs. M, is the primary support and biological mother of her son, one of my clients, and an Aboriginal grandmother and great-grandmother. All I knew from my client’s chart was that he was raised by an adoptive family, and in his early adulthood went back to live in his home community and met his biological mother, Mrs. M. This brief chart history did not even give me a glimpse into the woman Mrs. M. is today.
ReplyDeleteDue to a violent encounter, my client is now living in long-term care, and may need to for the rest of his life. His biological mother, Mrs. M., is his biggest supporter and advocate, while his adoptive family drops in on occasion. I have often wondered what circumstances led to my client being taken away from his mother and community as a baby. He has many siblings in his community that were never apprehended, but for some reason, my client was. To meet Mrs. M today, a wise, spiritual, and kind woman fighting for her son’s quality of life – it seems impossible to imagine that there was a day when someone decided she was unfit to raise my client.
My client was apprehended many years ago. He was taken from his mother at a time in child protection service’s history that is now critiqued for its western, middle-class criteria of apprehension, especially concerning those living on-reserve. I have asked my client if he knows any of the circumstances surrounding his apprehension, but he does not, and says it is too painful to think about anyway. My client says he had a wonderful life with his adoptive family, and has only pleasant memories of being raised in that family. I wonder though at how those years affected his mother, Mrs. M., and how it shaped who she is today.
My client has a daughter who is now living with a foster family as he cannot raise her due to his lasting injuries. When he was injured, I am told that Mrs. M. immediately volunteered to raise my client’s daughter, her granddaughter. This is not what came to be, as my client had made other arrangements with a couple he knew, but I am struck by the selflessness of Mrs. M. Now a great-grandmother, she did not give it a second thought when offering to raise her son’s daughter. This is why when you talk of the resilience of Aboriginal grandparents, I think of Mrs. M.. A woman with pain in her past, living today as a strong woman and family-influencer; speaking with pride of the new moccasins she must make for her newest grandbaby.
-Nikki
Kendall
ReplyDeleteYour blog was very informative. I was not aware that there was a 20% increase in the number of Canadian children living with their grandparents without a parent present in the home (Thomson, 2005). Therefore, at this point I just want to make note that I am not an expert on Aboriginal practices, but I do recall learning in the Aboriginal Perspectives class that children traditionally were viewed as a community commitment; meaning that all members of the community played a role in the raising of children. Therefore, I was wondering if possibly we should look to something that can be done not only on an individual level to relieve some of these negative impacts you mentioned, but on a community level as well.
Furthermore, Nikki- Thank you for sharing your experience as well, it was an inspiring story, which happened to remind me of a guy I work with. He is a foster parent for three Aboriginal youths. I never really got the background information from him on how he came to obtain these children; it appeared to be something he did not want to talk about. However, after talking to him for a bit other thoughts came to mind. I heard that sometimes when Non-Aboriginal individual’s foster Aboriginal youth there can be a loss of connection to the community, which may be do to a lack of awareness of its importance. Therefore, out of curiosity I asked him what he did to help keep them connected and he expressed many things and went into detail. I was impressed to hear all the things he does with his children, but I was wondering how many other foster parents are aware of the positive impact this has on children or how informed are these parents on how they too can do the same things with their foster children? I am sure there has to be some community promotion out there, but I was just not aware myself. Thanks Meghan
Kendall,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog. I found this blog very interesting and very educational to read. It has provided me with knowledge of my own Aboriginal culture and the important role that grand parenting has played in the lives of grandchildren. I was never aware of the twenty percent increase of Canadian Aboriginal children who are living with their grandparents. These grandparents have taken on this responsibility to care for their grandchildren when their children cannot. I am thankful that the traditional practice of Aboriginal grand parenting has not been lost. If Aboriginal grandparents had not stepped in and cared for their grandchildren,where would these children be? What would their future be? Aboriginal grandparents have remained dedicated to their family, taken the responsibility to keep the family together and have prevented Child and Family Services apprehensions and family breakups. I agree with you,Aboriginal grandparents need to be supported financially and provided with community resources and supports. As a future social worker,I hope to advocate for Aboriginal grandparents in the community.
Arlene
Hi Kendall,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your informative and interesting post with us. Like Arlene, your blog post gave me a chance to remind me of my own Korean culture. In the Korean traditional culture, grand parenting is very common even though a form of family system is changing today. Like in Aboriginal culture, Korean’s collectivistic society relied to grandparenting very much because as the economy of nation was developed, parents had to work. A number of grandparents willingly helped look after their children with pleasure. This traditional practice is very valuable because of the advantages of grandparenting. Both grandchildren and grandparents have many chances to communicate their own family culture or values by often meeting each other. However, in reality in Canada, it is sad to know that the Aboriginal face many financial problems and the Aboriginal grandparents have responsibility to look after their grandchildren. I agree with you and Arlene. If these grandparents die, who cares for their grandchildren? Eunkyeong
During my work life I have had the pleasure of meeting a number of Grandmothers and every single meeting has resulted in a story in my mind. I also had the honor of walking with my daughters and foster daughters in the annula Grandmothers walk. It was during this walk that not only did I learn the importance of Grandparents for me but my foster daughters got to meet for many their first time a Granmother that though there was no relation accepted them as their own. It is the wisdom and kindness held by our Grandparents that we strive to obtain.
ReplyDeleteTammy
Thank-you for writing such a culturally informative blog Kendall. I always find it interesting to see how theoretical concepts such as "collective cultures" and "individualistic cultures" are expressed in real life scenarios. Reading this blog and learning about the statistics of Aboriginal grandparents raising their grandchildren has helped me to step back and examine my own experiences of working with Aboriginal grandparents.
ReplyDeleteWhen I worked at Child and Family Services for a summer, coordinating family day camp events, I worked with a woman who asked to be called "Granny". Every week she would call me and see what events were going on, and every week she would arrive for the events with 4 to 7 grandchildren with her. At first I thought that she was just babysitting them for the day, but I soon realized that these kids lived with her for weeks or months at a time. I realized that these children saw Granny as a parent figure, and respected her as one. It was so different than the relationship I have with my own grandparents.
At the end of the summer I could no longer reach Granny. She had been caring for 4 to 7 children all summer, while living in a lower income apartment in a rough area of the city. Her phone was no longer connected, and when I went to the apartment to talk to her, I was told she no longer lived there. After reading this blog I have become more aware of the many different structural barriers Granny was facing.
From a factual perspective Granny's situation was that of a: single female Aboriginal headed household; a blended family as the grandchildren came from different parents; and the family was under financial strain. Yet despite the precarious situation Granny found herself in she was always laughing and saw her grandchildren as her "precious gifts".
That last comment was made by Michelle, I forgot to sign my name!!
ReplyDelete-Michelle
I think it is wonderful to view grandparents in a different light. So many people I know grew up thinking of their grandparents as just these nice older people who give them gifts on birthdays and holidays. Perhaps they taught you about the ‘old days’ and ‘how things used to be’ but they weren’t considered as powerful or important as parents. The commitment to family and the resilience shown by Aboriginal grandparents in taking up the challenge of parenting young children really demonstrates the importance of their role. The reality is that at least in the urban Aboriginal population I encounter in my placement, grandparents don’t feel like they have much of a choice because if they don’t assume responsibility for their grandchildren, they will be faced with CFS involvement. That’s a significant burden on an already disadvantaged population and I think it would be interesting to see research that follows children raised by their parents versus those raised by their grandparents
ReplyDeleteThe broader point I think your blog makes is that we need to redefine what family means. We can no longer think of it as a man and a woman , 2.5 kids or a single mother and her two kids. Families come in all forms and sizes and increasingly we are seeing the emergence of new families headed by grandparents, same-sex parents, etc. As future social workers we need to put aside our preconceived notes as to what kind of family situation is best for children and find new ways of evaluating and supporting these ‘alternative’ family arrangements.
-Carrie
Your blog had me thinking about my job that involves working with youth. I have found that since I have began my journey in working with youth, and seeing the amount of youth in care, the majority of the youth often have a connection that still remains towards their grandparent, or else their grandparent has become extremly ill and can no longer care for their grandchild. I think that there are many factors that play into the role of grandparents caring for their grandchild, in traditional ways like you mentioned, this is something that has happened for many generations, but there has also been a negative impact that forms around this as well and I think that links to the breakdown that has happended from the residential schools.
ReplyDelete~Jessica