Aboriginal communities continue to lose their most precious resource, their children, to child welfare systems. Often, this ends up destroying children's affiliations with family and community, leaving lost souls whose destinations may be the streets or prison. Some may appear healthy, but feel they do not belong anywhere or to anyone, disconnected from their communities of origin and not belonging to their adopted community. As we reflect upon the incessant flow of Aboriginal children into non-Aboriginal care, it is imperative to reflect upon our professional beliefs and assumptions in the delivery of child welfare services. Aboriginal Elders tell us that our models of practice contradict traditional Aboriginal ways of thinking. It seems timely to reflect upon the foundations of such programs as Aboriginal people seek to return to traditional worldviews and values to replace what they view as unworkable models that only worsen their current situation. The circles of understanding development team consisted of survivors of the 60s Scoop, an Aboriginal elder, a respected Aboriginal professor, non-Aboriginal social workers and academics. We found a way to grapple with our respective world views to create this course and feel that our actions and product illustrate what can happen we really listen to each other and come to a common understanding. We hope that the Circles of Understanding will help to inspire the many human services professionals and para-professionals, foster parents and other caregivers, and all the people who interact with Aboriginal people daily. Circles of Understanding challenges us to muster the required courage and humility to search our hearts for the daunting process restoring our relationship as those who serve and those who were served. If we fail, we can be left with an emotional impasse, of shame, blame and anger. The circle process finds its logic in the patterns of nature. It follows the same cycles that we find in the natural world. The Medicine Wheel serves as our anchor in this process of reconciliation. The Circle is made up of four quadrants, Spiritual, Emotional, Physical, and Intellectual, and guides us in our search. The Spiritual quadrant, we set the tone for the work and reminds us that we are all related, with different experiences and understandings but with unique contributions to make to the process. No person has all the answers and are but a piece of the puzzle. Our full engagement is all crucial. The Emotional is where we tell the stories. They may not be easy to hear and may elicit some deep emotions. Try to stay engaged in listening from the heart as this builds trust and understanding. You will begin to wonder why and how this could have happened. In Indigenous teachings, the Physical quadrant is not only about our bodies and paying attention to its needs and to maintaining good health; it also pays attention to the relational - how things are connected. For the Scoop issue, we seek answers to the question of why and how? We examine the experience of Indigenous peoples with government and legislative mandates that are foundational to the functioning of our society, analyze how they all fit together and have brought about these stories. Finally, we end with the Intellectual quadrant. We can come to a place where we can make good decisions. We present ideas on how to break the harmful cycles. We look at what others are doing and see that we are not alone in trying to produce much needed change. It is a time to present our own ideas and test them based on what we have learned. At the center of the circle is the "self". Here we discover where we fit into this picture and develop a deeper understanding of how we may have contributed to the problem and how we can contribute to the solutions. For that, we need courage and we need each other. We need courage to hear and embrace the stories. We need each other for support and for a fullness of ideas. Welcome to our world.
