Piikani bestow Blackfoot honour on Alta. minister
Danielle Larivee recognized for work with child intervention system
The Children’s Services Minster of Alberta was honoured with a Blackfoot name at the Piikani First Nation on Thursday.
Minister Danielle Larivee was acknowledged for her efforts in helping strengthen Alberta’s child intervention system through the release of the Child Intervention Action Plan.
Kelly Provost, director of Piikani Child and Family Services, informed an elder about the work Larivee has done and the elder chose to bestow Larivee with the name Naatoyikanasaakii, meaning “Sacred Shining Woman,” early Thursday morning.
“It’s a very high honour to get a Blackfoot name and it’s kind of her connection to Piikani people, to Blackfoot people, and that’s something she’ll always have,” said Provost, adding he hopes the name helps strengthen her purpose and connection to the community.
The naming ceremony was “tremendously meaningful” for Larivee, who admitted “I was starting to get tearful in the teepee.”
“It just showed to me the kind of relationship that we’ve built and certainly will encourage me to continue the work of connecting with our First Nations across Alberta because that relationship means something and it really showed me how much it meant,” said Larivee.
For over a year, the minister has met and connected with Alberta First Nations communities to help develop a plan to protect children and reduce the number of those in care, while tackling the issues that brought them into care.
There are thousands of children and youth receiving child intervention services daily and the Government of Alberta states that of those, approximately six out of every 10 are Indigenous.
“We’ve been working really hard with Indigenous communities to address the fact that kids are overrepresented in the childhood intervention system,” said Larivee.
“Piikani has been on this journey with me every step of the way. We’ve had so many conversations and community events to talk about what we need to do and where we need to go. That relationship has been integral to having good solutions.”
At the end of June, the final recommendations for the “Stronger, Safer Tomorrow: A Public Action Plan for the Ministerial Panel on Child Intervention” was released.
It highlights the need for cultural and family connections, greater understanding of Indigenous world views and a collaborative focus on the root causes of involvement in the child intervention system. The action plan helps ensure those who are in care “have all the connections they need to learn about their culture in order to grow and understand who they are and where they come from.”
Provost echoed her message. “It’s important for Indigenous children in care to learn about their culture.”
A lot of culture is lost, “specifically for children in care because a lot of kids don’t have that because, unfortunately, some of them live off reserve and they don’t stay in the community, so they’re not connected to their relatives — the people to teach them that,” Provost added.
It’s important for him and the community, that those involved in childhood intervention be aware of the importance of teaching the kids about their First Nations culture.
“That’s one of the things we want them to teach (the children) so when they become adults they have that tradition to share when they become parents, grandparents and elders and we want to ensure these children have that so they can be those leaders, be the teachers for their children.”