Giiwedin Anang Council

Feb 8

The Giiwedin Anang Council is a community based Indigenous Alternative Dispute Resolution program. Since 2008, the Council has helped resolve disputes between Children’s Aid Societies and Indigenous Families. The Council is a group of volunteers from the Indigenous community. Elders, Knowledge Keepers, Aunties, Uncles and community members gather in a Talking Circle to guide families through their difficult situations.

CHALLENGE

Indigenous children are over-represented in child welfare. Indigenous children represent approximately 30% of foster children in Ontario, despite making up only 4.1% of the population under 15. Further, Indigenous children are 4 times more likely to experience sexual abuse in foster care.

There are few cultural specific programs that support Indigenous families through their journey with the child welfare system.

INNOVATION

The purpose of the Giiwedin Anang Council is to allow parents, children, extended family, child welfare authorities and others with concerns for a child’s future, to get together and develop a plan that will meet the needs of the child.

The Councils approach is to remain neutral and compassionate, while guiding the families towards the best possible outcome for the children. The philosophy is that: The Indigenous Community knows best how to help a community member in crisis. Volunteers bring with them the best of their lived experience, a mix of personal resilience and professional success. Creating a safe space for families to open up about their lives is a skill, one all council volunteers have been trained to create. With their collective knowledge, connected hearts & minds and through their spirit, they shine together to be a guiding light through dark times.

The Council is a circle which allows all parties to have a voice in a culturally relevant and integral way. Most families attend around for talking circles before reaching resolutions to their conflict. The goal is that families close the circle approach with an understanding and acceptance of their unique roles and responsibilities.

The name: Giiwedin Anang Council

In the winter of 2009-2010, community members and staff invited Traditional Healer Jake Ago Neh, to Aboriginal Legal Services for a naming ceremony. Jake was offered Tobacco and offerings for the naming ceremony. After the ceremony, Jake shared that Giiwedin Anang is Anishinaabemowin for North Star.

Jake explained that long ago, if a person was lost at night in the dark, all the person had to do was look up into the night sky and look for the Big Dipper and from there the North Star. After finding the North Star, the person is no longer lost.

The Council is the North Start for families involved with the child welfare systems and family court. The program helps provide a sense of direction that can be used as a guiding light through conflict toward resolution.