Family, kinship and the Aboriginal homeland are fundamental to Aboriginal welfare. Gallant and colleagues. Gallant and colleagues (2017) claim that family violence based on males is the reason for the increase in Aboriginal babies and children entering the child welfare program. But, there has been an issue with Aboriginal children already in the institution since the colonial era. This is only an echo of the situation that existed decades ago. Colonialism and patriarchy have a strong influence on the child welfare system. The child welfare system makes indigenous mothers liable for any socioeconomic inequalities they experience. This structure conceals and ignores the socialpolitical problems that most disproportionately impact Aboriginal women (Scott 2019, 2019). Poorness continues to impact Aboriginal women in a significant way. It may be because of patriarchal and colonial influences like lack education, scarcity or poor prospects for employment. All these factors increase the chances that an indigenous child will enter the child welfare system. This increases the likelihood that Aboriginal mothers will be incarcerated or placed in welfare system custody for illegal activities such as taking money from their families to help support themselves.
Negative stereotypes of Aboriginal families are exacerbated by patriarchy and colonialism. These preconceived ideas are then ingrained in the activities and characteristics of most governmental agencies. These preconceptions are what lead to the formation of institutions like residential schools and child welfare. Scott (2019) states, “In other words, these systems have revolving doors that disproportionately affect Indigenous women and their children because they punish the effects of colonialism, patriarchy, and neoliberalism — including poverty, alcohol, and drug (ab)use, and low educational attainment — which ironically increase the likelihood of continued contact with both systems in the first place” (p. 83). The Canadian colonialism resulted in the passing of a statute which allowed the dissolution and consolidation of Aboriginal families.
Canada’s current child welfare legislation has been affected by the socio-democratic approach to leadership. This extends government responsibility to individuals families. The state often ignores systemic inequalities that have limited housing access for Indigenous families when it intervenes to prevent “child abuse” within Aboriginal families. These deficiencies are instead held accountable by the government (Gerlach and al. 2017, 2017). Social workers gained significant responsibility when the Indian Act was amended in 1951. These roles were previously performed by Indian agents. These roles include the education of adults, welfare of children and families, as well as overall well-being. To modify or expand Aboriginal people’s landlessness, the colonialists employed social work. Fortes and Hon Sing Wong (2019), a number of beneficial protocol and legal changes were implemented by colonialists. Colonialists made laws that separated Aboriginal families and their land, as the Aboriginal population relied on their family for their strength.