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Black Face Blogging: Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada's "Unstated Paternity" Policy/Practice Grossly Deficient and Blames Mothers

10/31/2012

4 Comments

 
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© 2012 Lynn Gehl, Gii-Zhigaate-Mnidoo-Kwe

I estimate that since 1985, when Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada’s (AANDC) unstated paternity policy/practice came into existence, as many as 25,000 Indigenous children have been denied Indian status registration due to a lack of a paternal signature on their birth registration form.  In the absence of a paternal signature, AANDC assumes a negative presumption of paternity, meaning they assume the father is a non-Indian.

While Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada relies on the language of “unstated paternity” and my effort is titled “National Strategy to Raise Awareness on Unknown and Unstated Paternity and the Indian Act” (NSRAUUP and the Indian Act) it is best that the issue of Canada denying Indigenous babies from gaining Indian status registration − and as such their treaty rights, First Nation Band membership, and First Nation citizenship − be fleshed out and understood in more particular identifying language; language that moves beyond that of blaming mothers.

This will help:

1.) Unstated Paternity  Alternative discourses may be Unreported Paternity and Unnamed Paternity.  Sometimes, due to an abuse of power and sexual violence such as incest and rape, mothers do not record the father’s name on the child’s birth registration form as they do not want the father to know about the child or have access to the child.

2.) Unacknowledged Paternity  An alternative discourse is Unestablished Paternity.  Sometimes, a mother records the father’s name on the child’s birth registration form, yet he refuses to sign the form because he needs to protect his standing in the community, and/or a marriage to another woman, and/or to avoid having to make child support payments, and/or the loss of his driver’s licence should he not make his child support payments.

3.) Unrecognized Paternity  This occurs when a mother records the father’s name on the birth registration form but, because the father’s signature is not obtained, the government of Canada blanks-out his name.  Alternatively stated, the government of Canada removes his name from the birth registration form.  In many situations, the father is not present during the birth of the child, such as when the mother is flown out of her community to give birth.  In addition, sometimes the father dies prior to the birth of their child.

4) Unknown Paternity  This situation occurs when the child was conceived through sexual violence of rape, gang rape, or through prostitution and as a result the mother does not know who the father is.

Note:  These categories that I rely upon to describe a mother, a child, a grandchild, and a great-grandchild’s experience, emerge from a patriarchal understanding of parentage.  Many mothers are of the perspective that a child is that of the mother.

Note:  These categories − unstated, unreported, unnamed, unacknowledged, unestablished, unrecognized, and unknown paternity – also apply to the paternity of one’s grandfather and/or great-grandfather.  For example, many mothers conceived their children through the sexual violence of molestation and rape that occurred during their Residential School and Day School experience.  In these situations, the father’s name will not be recorded on the birth registration form.  This will have an effect on whether the children, the grandchildren, and possibly the great-grandchildren are registered.

Note:  While it may be the case that from a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother’s perspective the father may be known, from a child, a grandchild, or a great-grandchild’s perspective he may be unknown.

Note:  A father’s signature must appear on the child’s birth registration form for his name to appear on the child’s long form birth certificate.  It is the long form birth certificate that is required in determining if a child is entitled to Indian status registration.

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4 Comments
Bob Majaury
11/1/2012 04:03:13 am

This was the situation with my great-grandfather, he was the child of an unwed native woman and taken in by a non-native family. The shame at that time of being from an unwed mother and the fear of disrimination is why his birth mother or father are not named on any documents. He took the name of the family that took him in and protected him, but he bravely declared being aboriginal on many documents. Now after over one hundred years he is still being discriminated against through the Algonquins of Ontario Land Claim process.
The government along with its agents will continue to exclude people in any way possible, as it is a benefit to them to eventually eliminate aboriginal people.

Reply
Lynn Gehl
11/3/2012 08:22:09 am

Kwey Bob,

Indeed it is ridiculous that the Algonquin land claims process in Ontario is relying on Western and thus colonial definitions of inclusion in the final ratification of the settlement agreement. The issue you raise of treating the descendants of a person who was born out-of-wedlock, as people unworthy is deeply disturbing. But really this should not surprise us - as I have been saying, the entire process is rooted in colonial policies and parameters.

While this happened to your ancestor (and thus you and your family as a descendant of this ancestor), the issue I am addressing in this Black Face blog is that federal policy is still treating children born out-of-wedlock as less than and therefore not entitled to their treaty rights. Thus, nothing really has changed has it? More people need to know this.

I am sorry to hear that being a descendant of a child born out-of-wedlock may potentially exclude you from your rights as an Indigenous person. If it is of any comfort - know that there are many Algonquin in a similar place of exclusion. In this way, the Algonquin process of extinguishing or relinquishing, or releasing – whatever word game they want to use - our rights will never be final.

Lynn

Reply
Russell Cadotte
11/9/2012 03:53:09 am

Tansi Lynn
Thank you for all your good work on behalf of us. I am not eligible for registration as my mothers father was non treaty, because he enlisted for WW1 and lied about his age. He was a year too young, he also fought in WW2 and in 1951 they were kicked of Fisher River reserve where my mother and generations of grandmothers are/were registered. What a way to thank him for his sacrifice. I was born in 1959 and should have been registered then, but wasn't because of my grandfather being "non treaty". My mother married a non native 3 years after my birth, so lost hers at that time. Anyway, my father is Not known/not listed and is not certain of his father anyway, his mother was non native, but it was strictly unspoken of who his father was, those that did know are gone now.
Best wishes and Thanks Again. Russell

Reply
lynn gehl
12/11/2012 04:14:20 am

Kwey Russell,

Miigwetch for the kind words. I see no reason why you cannot be registered through your mother. Have you applied? If not, that is the best test to determine if you are eligible.

Lynn

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