Episode 4 with Dr. Cindy Blackstock and Elder Randy Fred
Please be advised, the content in this episode contains graphic descriptions of assault, sexual assault, and suicide.
In our fourth episode, Bobby and his guests will be discussing Dr. Peter H. Bryce’s health research with an emphasis on the value of Indigenous children. Dr. Cindy Blackstock is a social worker, author, child right’s advocate, and Professor in the School of Social Work at McGill University. Elder Randy Fred, or Uncle Randy, is from the Tseshaht First Nation, in Port Alberni, British Columbia. After a lifetime of working in multimedia he is now an Elder-in-Residence at Vancouver Island University. This conversation was a powerful testament on how everyone can participate in pushing forward and amplifying the voices of Indigenous children. If two important things stood out, they are 1) we can collectively take action and 2) Indigenous children matter. How will you act now that you know? What injustices are taking place in our backyard? Who’s voice will I silence or amplify? When and where will I share what I know? These are starting point questions that listenners ponder and act on. Furthermore, we will pull forward ideas in Dr. Bryce’s writing by reminding ourselves of important questions asked in a previous episode: how much has changed and how much remains the same?
Guests and Host
Bobby Henry
Education Collaborator and Podcast Host
Stanley (Bobby) Henry, OCT, is of the Ball Deer Clan. He is a member of the Cayuga Nation, a nation of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. He is a community member of Six Nations of the River Territory and has spent 15+ years of his life in K-12 Cayuga language immersion education. He is a Ph.D. student in Trent University’s Ph.D. program in Indigenous Studies and holds a Master of Education degree in Indigenous Education from Lakehead University. Bobby is an Assistant Professor in Brock University’s Faculty of Education. His research interests are issues in Indigenous education, Indigenous language pedagogies and regeneration, and decolonizing and Indigenizing PK-12 education.
Dr. Cindy Blackstock
Podcast Guest
A member of the Gitxsan First Nation, Cindy is honoured to serve as the Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and a professor at McGill University’s School of Social Work. She has over 30 years of experience working in child welfare and Indigenous children’s rights and has published on topics relating to reconciliation, Indigenous theory, First Nations child welfare and human rights. A recipient of the SSHRC Gold Medal, Cindy was honoured to work with First Nations colleagues on a successful human rights challenge to Canada’s inequitable provision of child and family services and failure to implement Jordan’s Principle. This hard-fought litigation has resulted in hundreds of thousands of services being provided to First Nations children, youth, and families.
Cindy is frequently sighted in the company of the Caring Society’s reconciliation Ambearrister, Spirit Bear, engaging children in meaningful actions to implement the TRC Calls to Action.
Elder Randy Fred
Project Collaborator
Elder Randy Fred, or Uncle Randy, hails from the Tseshaht First Nation, in Port Alberni BC. After living in paradise in Barclay Sound he attended the Alberni Indian Residential School for 9 years. He was a plaintiff in the precedent-setting case, Blackwater, where the United Church of Canada and the Government of Canada were sued for sexual abuse. This case led to the Alternative Dispute Resolution and the formation of Reconciliation Canada. He began his working career in accounting. After a lifetime of working in multimedia he is now an Elder-in-Residence at Vancouver Island University.