Minigoziwin – Inherent Sovereignty

A focus group participant captured an important aspect of Indigenous Law when they stated:

I think it’s important that, when we’re talking about, “What is Indigenous Law?”, we had our own Law beginning from the time of birth... and the teachings that were given to the Grandmothers and the Aunties.

Minigoziwin is reflected in the land (aki), in traditional Anishinaabe systems of governance including council fires, and in dodemiwan - the clan system. It is also reflected in the treaties between Anishinaabe people and Europeans that created space for non-Indigenous people to share the lands and waters that Anishinaabe people had and have continued to live in relationship to for millennia. Anishinaabe law-making over child wellbeing is rooted in minigoziwin and in the inherent sovereignty Anishinaabe people hold over their children and the lands and waters that provide for their families and nations. Pamela Rose Toulouse explains,

The Spanish river was once abundant with manomin (wild rice). The river was healthy and plentiful with fish, birds and other wild animals. The river represented the living road of our people who travelled up the river to the winter camps at Biscotasing. The river represented our people’s connection to the land and the stories our Elders tell us strengthen that bond.

This river has been a witness to the history of our people. If you travel up the river towards Benny (short for Biscotasing) you will come across many sacred sites where the stories of our people are alive. The rock faces at various points are etched and painted with the visions and dreams of our Anishinabe ancestors. Those rocks were also witnesses to the history of our people and have many tales to tell.

In traditional Anishinaabe governance, a council fire was “responsible for the lands within its territories. People moved regularly in widespread but seasonally expected, politically negotiated movements on these lands and exercised their laws through decisions made in common and general councils.” In this way seasonal mobility coincided with deep ties and responsibilities to specific places throughout one’s territory. These seasonal rounds enabled Anishinaabe people to travel and maintain connections across wide geographical areas, participating in regional decision-making, while still caring for and maintaining relationships to their home akiing (lands).

The Robinson Huron Treaty serves as another source of Minigoziwin. As Sam Manitowabi describes, “We see Minigozowin in the Treaty, our leaders declared that “we shall always have reserved jurisdictions over our full territory, as our rights to harvest within the full extent of the territory, underlying title to the land and to a share of resource revenues were guaranteed.”

In relation to child wellbeing, colonial law interferes immensely with the ability of Anishinaabe people to look after their children and respond to harms that occur in their communities in legitimate and culturally appropriate ways. As Grace Manitowabi of Sagamok explains, “Gaawiin maaba chi-Gimaa dinmanzii aaniish ezhiwebak binoojiinh bikamgooing mii eta gwa naaknigwewin. Znagat kamgooyiing binoojiiminaanig. Aabdek dash gwii zhitoonaan gwek maanda mzinigan weweni wii bikognigaazwaat.. The government has no knowledge when they take our children just their laws. It is hard when they take our children. So we have to make our own laws to raise them well.”  Similarly, Janet Owl of Sagamok asserts that, “Anishinaabek had their own systems in place long before government imposed their laws.” One focus group participant from Batchewana asserts that the “…– they’re still the only decision maker in the room. We’re Treaty partners, we have as much right to sit in any room on any committee on any law-making body and make rules as well. They’ve forgotten that fact. I think that’s the number one thing that you guys have got to stress on them, “That they’re not the decision makers alone anymore.”” Along a similar vein, one focus group participant asserts that, “when [names] are talking about legislation …it’s like telling us that we’re allowed to do this. Whereas, we should be the ones telling the government, “This is how it is.” We have it backwards. And, until such time we have people that are going to say, “We’re going to invite you,” – Ontario Government or Federal Government – “to our territory, and this is what our Law’s going to be. Not yours to say...”

Annette Chiblow of Serpent River highlights some of these challenges in regard to transitioning from the current child welfare system to a system grounded in minigoziwin.

…if they have to go through all their process of legal stuff…and crossing their t’s and dotting their i’s, you know. It’s just a lot of Western ways that they do things… So, when you’re talking about the law here, coming to a First Nation... how do we do that? How are we going to be able to take care of the children that are coming into the homes, that we’re saying, “Yeah, okay, they’re healthy people to be raising children.” But, what if something goes south [laughs], you know, how do we handle that? Who’s going to be the authority to be able to oversee whatever’s happening?

Some contemporary responses to harm facing aabinoojinyag (children) and others by individuals and groups within the partner communities also reflect minigoziwin. As Eva Jewell relates in her recording of the “Gookmisag miinwaa zigosag eshpaa’endamojik” (Grandmothers and Aunties are concerned) movement occurring in Sagamok, the grandmas and aunties are taking up their inherent responsibilities to protect and care for the children and youth of their community. They began this journey with ceremony. “The gookmisag miinwaa zigosag offered semaa at the skateboard park and prayed. With help from the men, who lit a sacred fire and connected the pipe, the gookmisag miinwaa zigosag petitioned to the spirits: guide us as we take on the honourable responsibility to help our relatives who are struggling--guide us as we re-center mno bmaadziwin.” And Isaac Murdoch states that “when the power of the responsibility is taken away from a community and you have another entity moving in and taking care of it and doing it their way, it leaves the community feeling powerless and that's why CAS has actually been kicked out of our community. The rebuilding of traditional community institutions, primarily the family and doodem is central to minigoziwin. The whole idea of the clan system is to build our clans up so we can take responsibility for our own clan issues and build our own people so that we're able to deal with the issue at hand so that it never reaches the government.

Koognaasewin

The development of a Child Wellbeing Law speaks directly to the inherent right and sovereignty of Anishinaabe to oversee and deliver services and supports for children and families. The Reimagining work currently underway has been addressing the questions of system governance, how decisions and decision making will occur in the new system, and how disagreements will be resolved. During engagement sessions with community members and staff over the last few months, we heard that decision-making needs to be inclusive, bringing together different voices - the child, parents/caregivers, extended family, and other supporters.

An emergent theme from these discussions has a Circle Approach. A circle allows everyone to be heard and to come to a place of common understanding following everyone’s input. The circle allows many different stakeholders the opportunity to say where in the new system they can provide support, and it can support healing. Some instances where the circle approach could be used in a new child wellbeing system are in 1) Family Circles for Decision-Making; 2) Family Circles for Dispute Resolution and Healing; and, 3) Community Dispute Resolution Circles.

While there is still much discussion to occur regarding the governance model for a new child wellbeing system, the circle approach represents a working model that at this time, many community members and staff have identified as one possibility.

As the discussion on Minigoziwin above has shown, Anishinaabe have always had sovereignty and jurisdiction to look after and determine how children are to be cared for and raised. The development of a Child Wellbeing Law will formally reassert this jurisdiction and see communities and community-directed stakeholders take back control of child welfare from Ontario’s colonial system and reconnect children with their family, their community and their Anishinaabe culture.