By George Paul
MFCSNS Communications Officer
In researching the creation story of Mi’kmaw Family and Children’s Services of Nova Scotia journey to what it is today, it is simply astonishing.
With the social and economic conditions becoming direr in the mid-1970s the Mi’kmaq communities of Nova Scotia were reaching a point of crisis. There were substantial social problems in reserves such as drug and alcohol abuse, suicides which were often semi-disguised as accidents, deaths related to drug and alcohol abuse, family breakdowns, high rates of welfare dependency and high rates of unemployment.
On top of these social condition the impacts of the residential school, intergenerational impact of residential school and the sixties scoop only added to these current conditions.
As the residential schools across the country began closing down in 1963, the Indian Affairs enters into bi-lateral agreements with the provinces to deliver child welfare services on Reserves.
What follows is referred to as the "Baby Scoop" as First Nation children were removed from their communities and placed usually off reserves and in non-native homes.
In the mid 1970's Helen Martin, founding President of the NS Native Women's Association, begins to become concerned as First Nation youth who were brought up in foster and adoptive homes begin to try to find out who they are and why they were taken away.
The Native Women's Association receive funding from Secretary of State to do research and they identify five areas of concern, 1) the lack of research training in the Reserve Community, 2) the need for child welfare committees in the Reserve Community, 3)The need for special training in the area of Indian Child Welfare, 4) the need to look at Children's Aid Society policies as they pertain to natives, 5)the need for Native peoples to take over the whole child welfare programs, and to do the work currently done by the province.
The Association took their concerns to the Annual General Meeting of the Union of NS Indians in 1981 and the motion brought by Helen Martin and Ethel Lewis which directed the Union to address these issues was passed unanimously
Noel Doucette, President of the UNSI talks to Fred Wein, Director of the Maritime School of Social Work. They assemble a team to begin consultations and to seek funding for broader discussions.
The creation story begins on a sunny day in June of 1982 where about 60 participants from various backgrounds and specialities were invited to Liscombe Lodge to identify and discuss the most serious social problems on Mi’kmaw reserve and begin to define integrated solutions.
The three day workshop titled, "Social Conditions and Services in Micmac Reserves in Nova Scotia," from June 22-25 led to the development of a blueprint plan which led to the specialized training program that became the Micmac Bachelor of Social Work (MBSW) Program and the creation of the Mi'kmaw Agency, (Micmac Family and Children’s Services of Nova Scotia), along with the host of other initiatives, including Ulnooweg Development.
It takes another couple years for the Mi’kmaw Agency to take shape with Joan Glode taking the lead. In August 1985 the first staff are hired and 12 staff/students begin a 5 year MBSW program.
On October 21, 1985, Nova Scotia approves the Constitution & By-Laws and approves the formation of the Micmac Family & Children's Services. By October 1988, the province transfers all of the Mi’kmaw children in the permanent care and custody of the agency and by May 1990, enough students receive their BSW to assume all mandated services from the province.
Within 5 years the Mi’kmaw social service agency took control of the Mi’kmaq children in care. This is astonishing feat considering the agency didn’t even exist a little over 5 years before that.
It was from the shared will and resolve of Mi’kmaw leadership during those time that the Agency took form. Late Mi’kmaw leaders like UNSI President Noel Doucette and Helen Martin will forever be linked in the creation of MFCSNS.
During the three day workshop Noel Doucette’s opening address he said, “You can pump in as many dollars and as many people as you want in a system; but if you don’t have community involvement, community concerns with child welfare, there’s no way that you will have a child welfare system that works.”
When MFCSNS started in August of 1985 there were 23 staff members split between Eskasoni and Sipekne'katik. The person who led the Agency was Joan Glode of Acadia First Nation. Joan was one of the first people from the Mi'kmaq community to graduate with a Master's degree in Social Work from the Maritime School of Social Work which she received in 1973.
Joan's determination to do things the right way all started one morning in 1975 when she was going into the Mi'kmaq Friendship Centre in Halifax and there were two youths in the doorway. She invited them into the Centre for a cup of tea when one of them said, 'I grew up in foster care but I think I came from a certain native community – can you tell me who I am'? She was moved into a life decision to do things the right way, as these youths taught her how lost some of our children have become. They didn't know who they were, they couldn't speak their language, they didn't know their traditions because they were in foster care outside their own community.
For 25 years Joan worked diligently in building the Agency as a credible First Nation Child Welfare Agency on both the local and national levels. She applies culture, traditional knowledge and traditional healing methods to social services in communities.
“We are reweaving the fabric of our society and incorporating our traditions, our ways,” said Joan, “It is our job to quietly re-weave things back together, do things in our traditional ways and bring together our communities again.” To this day the Agency still shares in Joan’s vision of improving the lives of children and Mi’kmaw families.
For Joan’s great work she has received an Honorary Doctorate Degree, Order of NS and Order of Canada award. With all her great accomplishments Joan always regarded herself as merely a team leader, and credits all members of the team for the success of the agency.
When Joan retired in 2010 Arlene Johnson was selected as the new Executive Director of MFCSNS. Arlene was one of the 12 first MBSW students from Eskasoni to receive her degree and has been with the Agency since its inception.
Working with Joan for 25 years, Arlene gained much knowledge and admiration from her predecessor. Arlene has gone through the trials and tribulations of the Agency and has also witnessed the joys and triumphs.
As the Agency grew and more programs were created and more Mi’kmaq social workers were being hired, the need for adequate working conditions was greatly needed. Today the Agency has three offices which cover the entire province; Eskasoni, Sipekne'katik and Bear River.
As the Executive Director of MFCSNS Arlene is extremely proud of the agencies achievements over the past 35 years and MFCS is considered one of Canada’s top native social services agencies.
“I strongly believe we all want to see our families grow stronger, healthier and be happier. We share this vision with all our First Nation’s organizations.”
Arlene has seen a positive direction from the leadership, “Over the years I have witnessed our Mi’kmaw Nation become stronger with thoughtful leadership and through such move forward making dreams and ideas a reality. Along with strong leadership comes strong and healthy communities. Our Mi’kmaw communities are thriving today through our collective vision and desire to continue to push forward and regain control of our own affairs.”
In Arlene’s annual 2020 report she said, “This year is our 35th year in operation. We started as a small Agency with just 23 staff and we are now a staff over 200. We have grown over the years to meet the needs and demands of our growing Mi’kmaw communities. I would like to take this time to acknowledge and thank our social workers who were one of the first 23 staff. We embarked on the journey of having our own Mi’kmaw Agency that would better meet the needs of our families. I proudly believe culture, tradition and language remain a large part of what separates us from mainstream child welfare.”
“Regardless of our role at MFCS, as staff we face many challenges. The work is fraught with difficult decisions that we know may impact a child and their family forever. Such painful decisions and the ramifications are not lost on our staff. However, it is the criticism that we face when the public perspective of the Agency is marred by harmful comments.”
“We do not take our role and responsibilities lightly. We thrive to reflect professionalism and respect for the children and families with whom we work. Our work can be extremely challenging and rewarding at the same time. Therefore, it is important as Mi’kmaw people that we always work together in a manner that is respectful of each others’ roles, responsibilities and limitations.”
“I believe it is important to talk about the work with families over the years in the area of prevention has been ever evolving. Our focus has always been and continues to be on prevention and the preservation and integrity of the family structure.”
“We model or work based on the Seven Sacred teachings. The majority of our social work staff are Mi’kmaq. As such, we are members of our Mi’kmaw communities throughout Mikmaki and other local communities of Nova Scotia. We are making every effort to ensure our families understand the work that is necessary to help the family be healthy on all levels, including physically, emotionally and spiritually.”
“I also want to acknowledge the achievements of many of the parents of the families we work with who have made a commitment to change for the betterment of themselves and their children. We often receive positive feedback from families who have been appreciative of the services we have provided to them.”
“As we continue to grow and evolve as an Agency, we are excited about this next chapter as we embark on a new era in Mi’kmaw child welfare. We have been working cooperatively with KMKNO as we work toward the development of our own Mi’kmaw Child Welfare Act. This includes not only the Act itself but the development of policies which are respectful of our culture and families.”
“Through policies designed by our Mi’kwaw leaders for our Mi’kmaw families I believe brings us to where we started on September 9, 1985. This date represents the day MFCS first opened our doors to provide joint services with the Department of Community Services. Moving from a provincial mandate to our own Mi’kmaw mandate continues to be a journey, but we are closer than ever before to realizing that vision.”
Arlene Johnson - MFCSNS Executive Director Arlene Johnson looks back at 35 year in operation and feels more optimistic today about the direction the Agency is going, “Over the years I have witnessed our Mi’kmaw Nation become stronger with thoughtful leadership and through such move forward making dreams and ideas a reality.”
Helen Martin - Helen Martin, founding President of the NS Native Women's Association, begins to become concerned as First Nation youth who were brought up in foster and adoptive homes begin to try to find out who they are and why they were taken away.
Joan Glode - One of the original founders and the first Executive Director of MFCSNS, Joan held a Master's degree in Social Work and was the executive director for 25 years. Joan's vision made MFCSNS one of the best aboriginal social services in Canada.