Medication, language loss must be part of inquiry of Innu kids in care, says former band councillor

A former band councillor in Natuashish says the inquiry promised by the Innu Nation and Newfoundland and Labrador government can only be effective if it succeeds in getting "everything out in the open."

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"When the kids come back into the communities [after being in foster care and protective services], they tell stories and in the past, we haven't really paid too much attention to what the kids are saying about when they were in care," says Mary Jane Edmonds.

"We never questioned it until the kids started passing away as soon as they come out of care."

Edmonds said the stories she is referring to have to do with medication that some kids say they have been given while in care. She said sometimes information about the particular type, dosage or adverse effects can be difficult to find out.

"If they are on medication like anti-depressants, that's the medication you don't just [come] off right away, that's medication you get weaned off. So we don't know for sure what's happening out there," said Edmonds.

The provincial government has said ithopes the inquiry's terms of reference will be set by July 31 and that the person or body to lead the inquiry should also be announced by that date.

The announcement follows an investigative series by CBC News in June about suicides, addiction and being uprooted in the Labrador community of Natuashish.

In March, CBC reported that 265 children from Labradorwere living in foster care and that many had been sent far from home.

Language loss

Edmonds said another topic that needs to be examined within the inquiry is the isolating effect of Innu children living in English-only homes for years when in care.

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"Then they come back into the community and they're having a struggle, having issues speaking their own language in the community and they begin to feel left out," she said.

Edmonds said any meaningful investigation into the issues that continue to plague the Innu Nation must focus on more than just the youth.

"Parents are going to have a hard time changing without support. That's what we need to establish support system for the families that are having problems," she said, noting some adults have their own physical and mental health issues.

Consistent support workers in the community would go a long way, Edmonds added.

Inquiry for Inuit children, too?

There is also a disproportionatelyhigh number of Inuit kids in foster care, but it's not yet clear if a separate inquiry will be held or if Inuit will take part in the inquiry now being organized.

"For me, whatever gets us to the bottom of the root causes and helps us move forward in the most quick manner ... But definitely we are interested in some form of process," said Michelle Kinney, Nunatsiavut's deputy minister of health and social development.

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She said talks with the provincial government and Innu leaders are in the works, and is hopeful they happen thisweek.

Kinney said issues she feels warrant further examination include root causes of suicides in Nunatsiavut and the impact of relocation and residential schools on individuals.

"The debate within myself always is how much time and energy do we want to be putting in ourselves into looking at the past issues and what's happened or do we just get on with it and look at the solutions?" she said.

But Kinney said she understands whereInnu leaders are coming from and why the announcement of an inquiry in whatever form it may take is a step forward.

"I think we know anecdotally what the issues are ... I guess the issue is sometimes in order to legitimize it for the general public, things have to be documented, things have to be done in a more legalistic way, a more formal way," she said.

"Having that process sometimes is beneficial to get that information out there to the public, like [Edmonds] has said and to document things so we have a basis for moving forward."

'Not about money'

Edmonds echoed that the information that can emerge from an inquiry can go a long way in addressing not only the problems, but existing attitudes of people who think the issue has nothing to do with them.

"Public awareness for one thing, so it doesn't hold that stigma that the Innu are crying again," she said.

"You know, 'Oh, the Innu are crying about this again, they want more money,' because that's what you hear, what people say when they comment ...It's not about money. It's about people being supported and it's about people being aware of what's really happening with the Innu."