Grandmothers raising grandchildren: Development of a school based grandmother support group

• Main Author: Penner, Christine
• Other Authors: Wallin, Dawn (Educational Administration, Foundations & Psychology), Fitznor, Laara (Educational Administration, Foundations & Psychology), Mignone, Javier (Community Health Sciences), Duncan, Heather (Brandon University)
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Grandmothers raising grandchildren; post-colonialism; Indigenous feminism; Canadian residential schools; autoethnography methodology; Canada; Charity; Indian; First Nations
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1993/34420

Many grandmothers are raising their grandchildren who are attending school. In particular, many Aboriginal grandmothers are raising their grandchildren which is a phenomenon that is prevalent in many First Nations communities in Canada. The implementation of tools of Canadian colonialism such as the residential school system, the Sixties Scoop, and the Indian Act, deprived many Aboriginal people of their identities, culture, and traditions, resulting in a legacy of abuse, alienation and dysfunction (Dempsey, 2014; Ginn & Kulig, 2015; Spencer, 2016; Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada [TRC], 2015). As many Aboriginal survivors and adoptees did not have positive role models and did not acquire critical parenting skills, it is grandmothers who have taken on the responsibility of raising their grandchildren. Aboriginal caregiving grandmothers are taking a lead role in dealing with the intergenerational effects of the Canadian residential school system and the Sixties Scoop. It is likely that many would benefit from supports and services to aid them in this role. This research study gained knowledge about the work grandmothers have done to raise their grandchildren. The research method that was used for this study was autoethnography. As a school administrator I started a Grandmother Support Group for grandmothers who were raising their grandchildren. Most of these grandmothers were Aboriginal. The data for the study consisted of my diaries regarding the work that was done for the start and continuation of a Grandmother Support Group. This research study found that the work of caregiving grandmothers made them agents of positive change within their homes and communities, and led to the development of a formal registered charity that continues to support grandmothers across the world in their efforts to improve circumstances for themselves and their families. It also provided me with a greater understanding of my own role as an ally, in which I learned to use my own privilege to influence spaces for ...