Campbell River Indigenous Parenting Report

Abstract

The research project involved engaging with the local Indigenous communities, through consultation with culture keepers. The research participants included eleven individuals who identified as Indigenous and lived in proximity to Campbell River. The data collection methods afforded the research team with an opportunity to integrate the use of community-based research techniques. The data collection included an individual demographic questionnaire, an individual ecomap of family make-up, round-table discussions with open-ended questions in a ‘World Café’ style, and concluded with a community mapping exercise. The information gathered was analyzed using Nvivo software that placed response to open-ended questions in hierarchies based on frequency of agreement by other research participants. The information was drafted into a framework that is intended to guide cultural congruency in Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) programs in Campbell River.

The findings provided a great deal of information on what child development looks like for Indigenous families within Campbell River and surrounding areas. For example, the information gathered helped to identify family and environmental make-up (through the use of ecomaps and community mapping), the role of families and caregivers in raising a child, the important aspects of child development, and how to appropriately support a child. The information also highlights what to look for when working with families by identifying traditional customs and practices that may help guide child-rearing practices. For non-Indigenous populations, the framework can be used to help increase knowledge about differences between cultures. This in turn, can aid with limiting bias through information sharing between cultures.

The research report will present the ways in which the Indigenous Communities within Campbell River and surrounding areas parent their children and the important cultural considerations that must be made when working with this unique community. The resulting framework will provide accessible knowledge about traditional parenting practices as identified by local Elders and culture keepers that may have been lost through residential schools and colonization.