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It is my great pleasure to present the very first audiovisual edition of the First Peoples Child & Family Review! This is a peer reviewed journal dedicated to interdisciplinary knowledge honouring the voices and perspectives of First Nations, Métis, Inuit and other Indigenous people around the world. With this edition we want to highlight the importance of oral and visual knowledge transmission for Indigenous people. We want to challenge the prevalence of written knowledge transmission in academia and show that other ways of knowing are just as powerful. This includes publishing work from people young and old in recognition that learning is a lifelong journey and that each and every one of us carries wisdom in our hearts and in our minds. In total, there are 12 works published in this edition of the First Peoples Child & Family Review. This includes drawings and videos from Indigenous researchers, graduate students, community members, youth, and non-Indigenous allies and supporters. I want to thank all of the contributors to this special edition for sharing their knowledge, experience, and stories and to the peer referees for their thoughtful feedback. To you, the viewer, I hope you enjoy learning from and being inspired by the contributions that follow.

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Jordan’s Principle is a legal rule named in memory of a very special little boy named Jordan River Anderson. Jordan’s Principle makes sure that all First Nations children get the services they need when they need them. This applies to all services: including heath care, education, child welfare, and more. If your child, or someone you know needs services, call 1-855-JP-CHILD (1-855-572-4453) / 1-833-PJ-ENFAN (1-833-753-6326) or visit www.canada.ca/jordans-principle.

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January 26, 2016, was a historic day. Nine years after the Caring Society and Asssembly of First Nations filed the case, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal issued a landmark ruling that found Canada guilty of racial discrimination against First Nations children. Featuring interviews with the Caring Society's pro bono legal team, this short film explores the history and significance of the case through a legal lens. Thoughtful and engaging, the film is a must watch for legal professionals, educators, activists, and young people alike.

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The grade 3/4 and grade 7 class at Ross Drive Public School worked together to learn about treaties, Shannen Koostachin, and Shannen’s Dream. The students were asked to think about what a safe and comfy education might look like and why it is unfair that Shannen Koostachin had to fight for this right. To learn more, visit www.shannensdream.ca.

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This video describes the partnership between the Sun Lodge Village and Peguis Child and Family Services in Peguis First Nation, Manitoba. Together we are providing opportunities for families, youth, and children to find their way back to traditional spiritual ways of healing and knowing who they are through ceremony, traditional teachings, and land-based experiences. The story is told through voices, pictures, and songs of the Sun Lodge Village family, child and family service workers, and the parents and youth involved. It describes the need for radical change in the child welfare system for Anishinaabe families, to find alternatives to placing so many children in foster care. It shows how such change is indeed possible through helping families from within traditional Anishinaabe ways of being. Those involved describe how these ways have provided healing for them, how their families have been strengthened, and how special the Sun Lodge and the Sun Lodge Village family have become for them.

EN:

The grade 3/4 and grade 7 class at Ross Drive Public School worked together to learn about treaties, Shannen Koostachin, and Shannen’s Dream. The students were asked to think about what a safe and comfy education might look like and why it is unfair that Shannen Koostachin had to fight for this right. To learn more, visit www.shannensdream.ca.

EN:

This video is about a Métis youth’s (Kaitrina Harrisson) journey of self-discovery, specifically their sexuality. Speaking of the past, finding inspiration; into the present, acknowledging their identity; and to the future, carrying hope. They also speak about the help lent to them by the hand drum and grandfather drum. Throughout the video, Kaitrina is heard drumming with the women’s and men’s drum circles they are a part of. Kaitrina created this video through a research project entitled: Promoting healthy urban environments for young Indigenous peoples: The case of M'Wikwedong Native Cultural Resource Centre. The research team was formed by the M’Wikwedong Youth Group (Ryerson King, Kaitrina Harrisson, Steven Schlonies, Nikita Jones, and James Schlonies) and the Centre for Environmental Health Equity at Queen’s University (Carlos Sanchez-Pimienta and Jeffrey Masuda). This video displays a previous iteration of the name of this project. M'Wikwedong recently changed its name to "M'Wikwedong Indigenous Friendship Centre."

EN:

In my video, I (James Schlonies) tell the story of how I struggled when I was younger. I went through all mental health services available in my town, but sometimes I just felt worse after. When I was in grade 7, I started going to M’Wikwedong. My family and I received help from M’Wikwedong to cope with what I was going through. Drumming helped me learn to speak up for myself. Now I am a member of the Board of Directors at M’Wikwedong and I am an advocate for other youth in my area. This video was created through a research project entitled: Promoting healthy urban environments for young Indigenous peoples: The case of M'Wikwedong Native Cultural Resource Centre. The research team was formed by the M’Wikwedong Youth Group (Ryerson King, Kaitrina Harrisson, Steven Schlonies, Nikita Jones, and James Schlonies) and the Centre for Environmental Health Equity at Queen’s University (Carlos Sanchez-Pimienta and Jeffrey Masuda). This video displays a previous iteration of the name of this project. M'Wikwedong recently changed its name to "M'Wikwedong Indigenous Friendship Centre."

EN:

The grade 3/4 and grade 7 class at Ross Drive Public School worked together to learn about treaties, Shannen Koostachin, and Shannen’s Dream. The students were asked to think about what a safe and comfy education might look like and why it is unfair that Shannen Koostachin had to fight for this right. To learn more, visit www.shannensdream.ca.

EN:

The Aboriginal Children’s Hurt & Healing (ACHH) Initiative is a research initiative aimed at improving Indigenous children’s healthcare experiences. The ACHH Initiative seeks to recognize the pain and hurt experience of Indigenous children and youth by gathering individual stories and artwork to better understand cultural differences for both the emotional and physical pain experience. The ACHH Initiative, in collaboration with several First Nations communities across the Mi’kma’ki and Wolastoqey regions, offered conversation and art sessions to community members. A knowledge sharing video communicating community ideas from this work was developed, with youth identifying emotional pain depicted through artwork. This knowledge represents a profound cultural understanding of pain as something that is experienced on multiple levels - physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. This video was produced by RPM Productions.

EN:

The grade 3/4 and grade 7 class at Ross Drive Public School worked together to learn about treaties, Shannen Koostachin, and Shannen’s Dream. The students were asked to think about what a safe and comfy education might look like and why it is unfair that Shannen Koostachin had to fight for this right. To learn more, visit www.shannensdream.ca.

EN:

This photovoice project was undertaken by the Family Advisory Committee of the Canada Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Research Network to describe the experiences and the challenges faced by those supporting loved ones with FASD. Photovoice is a method of bringing forth the voice of those who are typically marginalized. It is a process by which people can act as recorders and potential catalysts for social action and change. The Family Advisory Committee chose the photovoice technique to communicate both their experiential knowledge and the research knowledge on both the challenges and rewards in supporting individuals with FASD. This photovoice project highlights several themes that are consistent with the results of caregiver research and provide a glimpse into the experience of those supporting loved ones with FASD. Through this type of knowledge translation the Family Advisory Committee hopes to enhance policy maker and service provider understanding of the necessity of providing support and services not only to the individual with FASD but to those who support them as well.