INDIGENOUS APPROACHES TO FASD PREVENTION – A RESPONSE TO TRC CALL-TO-ACTION #33

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Five new booklets on Indigenous Approaches to FASD Prevention have just been published. They were developed following the Dialogue to Action on Prevention of FASD meeting in May 2017, and reflect the 8 tenets of the Consensus Statement created by participants for enacting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Call-to-Action #33:

“We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to recognize as a high priority the need to address and prevent Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), and to develop, in collaboration with Aboriginal people, FASD preventive programs that can be delivered in a culturally appropriate manner.” – Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

The booklets were written by Tasnim Nathoo and Nancy Poole of the Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health in collaboration with the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation, and Canada FASD Research Network. Topics include: Brief Interventions with Girls and Women, Mothering, Wellness, Community Action, and Reconciliation and Healing. Printed booklets are being shared with those who attended the meeting in May and with Indigenous communities who may find them helpful as they plan FASD prevention efforts. Links to PDF versions are included in this blog.

Grounded in research, the booklets prioritize Indigenous knowledge for implementing culturally-safe, cross-disciplinary, cross-organizational, and collaborative approaches to FASD prevention. As well, each booklet offers discussion questions that shift the lens from a primary focus on alcohol use during pregnancy, to a holistic focus that aligns with Indigenous values and worldviews to support change and transformation in all systems of care.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) provided a process for discovering the harms and injustices that Aboriginal people experienced as part of the Indian Residential School system with an aim to build a lasting and respectful foundation of reconciliation across Canada. TRC findings were released in 2015 along with 94 Calls-To-Action (CTA), including CTA #33, which focuses on FASD prevention.

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