Foster parents’ engagement in the development and maintenance of Indigenous children’s and youth’s cultural identities

Abstract

Very little is known about what culturally matched and non-matched foster parents are doing together to support their Indigenous children’s cultural identities, although the outcomes of culturally matched caregiving for children are well documented. The purpose of this study was to describe how foster parents and caregivers engage together to support the development and maintenance of the cultural identities of Indigenous children and youth in their care. The action-project method, informed by contextual action theory, guided data collection and analysis. This qualitative method was used to understand the joint actions between caregivers – or between single caregivers and their significant support person – of the four dyads and two single caregivers (N = 10) who participated in this study. Three themes emerged from the research: nurturing children’s cultural connections, humility and self-education, and creatively finding and using social resources. All caregivers in the study described their efforts to connect children to their communities: (a) advocating for and on behalf of the children, (b) developing connections with the children and their family and community, and (c) maintaining a good relationship with others involved in the children’s circle of care. Research with transcultural foster parents suggests that cultural engagement is an important dimension of the caregiving experience. Further studies can investigate dilemmas foster caregivers experience in providing cross-cultural care. Future research on foster caregiver efforts to be authentic to their own cultures and to the cultures of their Indigenous foster children is warranted.