Engaging Indigenous Dads
Dad Central recently offered a webinar with Dr. Jessica Ball, from the University of Victoria, on “How to Help Indigenous Dads be More Positively Engaged.” Dad Central is also regularly offering “Into the Circle” training for those interested in developing their provision to support Indigenous fathers.
While qualifying that there is great diversity of experience, Dr. Ball noted that a large body of Indigenous fathers in Canada are not thriving or staying connected with partners, often even from the time of pregnancy and birth. Findings from a recent study in Saskatchewan show that 30% of children under 5 in that province are Indigenous, with five times more births to teenage Indigenous mothers than to teenage mothers outside that demographic. She noted that, within the Indigenous population, there are high rates of health issues and the transition to parenthood can be highly challenging, with high rates of post-partum depression.
Involved fathering has been shown to be a factor in improving health outcomes for children. Recently, the emphasis has been on mothers and Elders; the Indigenous community is now beginning to look at ways to support Indigenous men in learning fathering skills. Dr. Ball’s advice to agencies looking for ways to support this work is to start by getting an Indigenous partner or partners to assist in bridging the cultural divide.
Broader studies have demonstrated that fathers’ involvement has positive impacts on children’s survival, health, and future fathering potential. Fathers’ absence (especially with sudden discontinuance) has been shown to have negative impacts on adaptive functioning, socio-emotional and psycho-emotional health, and academic success. Benefits of fathers’ involvement have been shown to include:
· Greater capacity for attachment
· Enhanced self-confidence
· Lower levels of distress
· A more robust sense of self
· Lowered rates of accident or premature death
· Less substance use
· Greater wellbeing
Dr. Ball argues strongly that Indigenous men are probably the most isolated group in Canadian culture. Her own research with First Nations and Metis fathers, looking at the question, “What are fathers’ roles, needs and goals?” has indicated that:
· Families are complex: Fathers often have several families, or children with different partners. She notes that, in improving inclusion for this group, standard program intake forms may need to be revised or left very open so as not to alienate Indigenous fathers.
· Most of the fathers in her study did not have full time, year-round work. In groups, she suggests avoiding asking questions about work, marital status, paternity leave, etc.
· The personal narratives of the fathers in her study described a history of trauma and of negative engagement with bureaucracies. Frequently recurring themes included:
o No positive father role-model
o Substance use
o Low self-worth
o Family violence
o Suspension from schools
o Suspicion of government processes
o Poverty
· For the reasons listed above, she says it is important to avoid holding meetings in schools or government-office looking setting.
· Fathers suggested a longing for a “circle of care”, with statements such as “I wish I could pass along my culture and our language to [my child], but at the Friendship Centre, I’m learning at the same time as him, so I guess that’s okay.” Possible spaces to create these opportunities could be through AHS preschools, Friendship Centres, Men’s Drumming Circles, or Men’s Paddling Groups.
· The fathers expressed hope that fatherhood can be a healing journey.
· They articulated appreciation of the role of mothers, aunties, female partners and ex-partners.
· They expressed a perception of “mother-centrism” in available programming, that programs are designed to offer support specifically to mothers and that there is a lack of available support for fathers, especially for those fathers who are raising children on their own.
· Of the 70 fathers in her study, only four wanted to be in a support group with a partner. Eleven wanted a men’s group with an Indigenous leader. Twenty-three wanted to see fathering education for young men in middle and high schools.
Dr. Ball would like to see multi-sectoral policy and program strategies engaging child welfare, ECE, housing, community services, education, health, and social development to create a wheel of support for Indigenous fathers, with father-involvement workers in community service agencies and institutional settings such as schools, maternity care, and correctional institutions.
· She would like to see child records include who are the father-figures in the child’s life.
· She promotes registration of paternity on birth, health, school, and child welfare records, noting that there is a higher prevalence of non-registration of paternity of First Nations children’s birth records than any other group, and that research shows that children whose birth records show their fathers’ name are more likely to survive and thrive.
· She identifies “5 P’s” as integral to support of Indigenous fathers:
o Policy reforms
o Paternity recognition
o Program supports for fathers
o Positive media
o Patience
Dr. Ball notes that, of 130 organizations contacted in the National Indigenous Father Involvement Programs National Scan, only 35 reported a ‘successful program’. These were mostly clustered in B.C., Saskatchewan and Ontario. Ten ideas from the scan include:
· Customize your approach to meet the need of local dads.
· Pull resources from every source
· Create a safe space (people/activities/location)
· Focus on what dads say they need
· Have a simple routine
· Provide food
· Focus on a single activity per meeting (e.g., what goes in a gym bag/snacks/how to do a French braid/peer sharing)
· Take it outdoors whenever possible
· Find a man to lead it
· Don’t give up!
Dr. Ball and her team have created a range of support materials, including posters, a starting point educational guide for fathers, a pamphlet for doctor’s offices and community agencies, a community program booklet, and a video. The video presents six First Nations fathers in Canada telling individually what it has been like for them to become fathers and to grow into fatherhood. Most have overcome huge social obstacles and personal challenges, but the message is one of hope. Dr. Ball suggests, in using the video as a discussion tool, to use indirect questions, such a “Is there anything in this man’s story that resonates with you?”
For more information and to access the resources, click here.
Dad Central’s “Into the Circle” training is a 3-hour training program via Zoom ($155.21 CAD) that looks at:
· The impact on child development when fathers are positively involved
· Describing what children need from fathers
· Outlining attachment and how it differs for fathers
· Discussing the activation relationship and how it works with attachment
· The three main influences on fathers and how they contribute to father involvement
· Identifying and describing the challenges in engaging fathers
· Understanding what fathers want based on research
· How to provide the 5 P’s of support for fathers
By attending, students will be led in conversation and learning about important principles, while discussing with participants how to apply the learning to one’s own specific community.