Resources for Service Providers Working with Indigenous Peoples

The No Longer on My Own (NOLOMO) project is funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada and the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women.

Most links provided below will take you to an external website or document. We do not endorse these websites or documents and are not responsible for their contents.

Manuals, Toolkits, and Training

Working with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Families Who Have Experienced Family Violence: A Toolkit for Child Welfare Professionals:

This Practice Guide provides tools to support working effectively with First Nations, Inuit and Métis families when assessing allegations of maltreatment in the context of family violence

Quebec Native Women Organization’s Toolkit:

This Toolkit is designed to equip workers who work with Indigenous women, girls, two-spirited people and families in abusive situations.

The Aboriginal Approach to Family Violence:

This document outlines the specificity of the Aboriginal approach to family violence as developed by the Native Women’s Shelters Network.

Indigenous Women, Intimate Partner Violence & Housing:

This newsletter provides an overview of the interaction between intimate partner violence and homelessness among Indigenous women.

The Nonviolence Equity Wheel:

This Nonviolence Equity Wheel outlines the key values of a non-violent life, including compassion, respect, generosity, mutual sharing, humility, contributing/industriousness, courage, love and being spiritually centered.

Decolonizing Family Law Through Trauma-Informed Practices

Author(s): Myrna McCallum and Haley Hrymak
Source: Rise Women’s Legal Centre (2022)

Building the Sacred: An Indigenous Framework for Programs Serving Native Survivors of Violence

Author(s): Lauren Polansky & Abigail Echo-Hawk
Source: Urban Indian Health Institute

This framework illustrates four places from which Indigenous evaluation is already taking place in violence prevention, response, and healing programs that have not yet been formally recognized in a culturally rooted evaluation framework.

Family Violence Prevention: Recommendations on Supporting Family Violence Prevention and Mental Wellness for Remote and Isolated Indigenous Communities

Author(s): Task Group on Mental Wellness
Source: COVID-19 Public Health Working Group on Remote and Isolated Communities

This report provides insight and recommendations on wise practices that government and partners can take for preventing family violence and supporting the well-being of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people.

A Culture of Violence and Silence in Remote Canada: Impacts on Service Delivery to Address Intimate Partner Violence

Authors: Heather Fikowski and Pertice Moffitt
Source: University of Saskatchewan

This chapter outlines the findings of a five-year mixed-methods study conducted between 2011 and 2017 investigated the community and frontline response to IPV in the Northwest Territories. It explores the culture of violence and silence by considering how this increases women’s vulnerability and susceptibility to IPV as well as the negative impacts to effective frontline service delivery.

Addressing Intimate Partner Violence In The Northwest Territories, Canada: Findings And Implications From A Study On Northern Community Response (2011-2017)

Authors: Heather Fikowski and Pertice Moffitt
Source: University of Saskatchewan

This chapter shares research findings from a five-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council-funded project about northern community response to IPV.

Domestic Violence Risk Assessment, Risk Management, and Safety Planning with Indigenous Populations

Author(s): Fairbairn, J., Lagarde, N., Peters, O., Gosse, M., Jeffries, N., Campbell, M., Straatman, A., Dawson, M., & Jaffe, P.
Source: Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative with Vulnerable Populations

This report provides a summary of selected grey literature on domestic violence in Indigenous communities.

Improving family violence legal and support services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men who are perpetrators of family violence

Author(s): Marcia Langton, Dr Kristen Smith, Tahlia Eastman, Dr Lily O’Neill, Emily Cheesman & Dr Meribah Rose
Source: Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety Limited (2020)

This project explores the practical and legal supports available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men who are perpetrators of family violence. While not specific to Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island, it can give service providers important insight into this topic.

Reducing Aboriginal Family Violence Through Aboriginal Storytelling

Author(s): Donna Lester-Smith
Source: AlterNative An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples

This article provides an overview of some of the unique learning methodological perspectives and approaches unearthed during a three-year study with the Vancouver, British Columbia, organization called the Warriors Against Violence Society. Their unique model provides ways of healing from presently felt wounds through traditional wisdom and storytelling practices.

Fostering Resilience in Children Traumatized by Domestic Violence in Collaboration with their non-Offending Parent:

This webinar considers ways to recognize how trauma impacts children and offers ways to support healing and resiliency to them in collaboration with their parent. Inter-generational trauma and culturally-based approaches of Native people provide the framework for this webinar.

Understanding the Dynamics and Tactics of Intimate Partner Violence Through the Lens of Indigenous Survivors:

This webinar provides an overview of the root causes of domestic violence in Indigenous communities. It also explains the dynamics and tactics of IPV from a survivor’s perspective. Highlighted in this webinar is the importance of traditional, cultural practices in strengthening and building our capacity to provide effective, respectful advocacy with our relatives surviving IPV and other forms of domestic violence.

Children Exposed to Violence:

This webinar provides an overview of evidence-based practices for working with Indigenous children exposed to violence.