Best Foster Care Guide for Non-Indigenous Families Fostering Indigenous Children in Saskatchewan

Eighty percent of children in Saskatchewan's foster care system are Indigenous. This is the single most important number for any non-Indigenous family considering foster care in this province. It means that if you are approved as a foster parent in Saskatchewan, the overwhelming probability is that you will be asked to care for an Indigenous child — a First Nations, Métis, or Inuit child whose cultural identity, community connections, and heritage carry legal protections and moral obligations that you need to understand before you enter the system.

The question non-Indigenous families most often ask privately but rarely voice to social workers is: "Will I even be approved?" The answer is yes — Saskatchewan cannot meet the placement needs of over 3,000 children in care with 462 foster homes without non-Indigenous families. But approval comes with expectations, and the best resource for your situation is one that addresses both the practical licensing process and the cultural responsibilities that accompany fostering Indigenous children in a province where the child welfare system's relationship with Indigenous communities is historically fraught and actively evolving.

Will You Be Approved? Addressing the Anxiety Directly

Saskatchewan's child welfare system prioritizes placement in this order:

1. Extended family (kinship care)
2. The child's own First Nation or community
3. Another Indigenous family
4. Any family that can meet the child's needs — including non-Indigenous families

This priority structure reflects the province's legal obligations under the Child and Family Services Act and the federal Bill C-92, which affirms Indigenous jurisdiction over child and family services and prioritizes cultural continuity for Indigenous children. Non-Indigenous families are fourth in the priority hierarchy.

But here is the practical reality: there are not enough families in categories 1, 2, and 3 to meet the need. The 462 foster homes serving 3,000+ children include a significant number of non-Indigenous families fostering Indigenous children right now. The system would collapse without them. If you meet Saskatchewan's eligibility requirements, pass your background checks (Criminal Record Check with Vulnerable Sector Search plus Child Abuse Registry), complete PRIDE training, and pass your home study — you will be licensed. Your non-Indigenous identity does not disqualify you.

What it does is create additional obligations — obligations that are legally mandated, ethically important, and practically significant for the child in your care.

The Cultural Connection Obligation

When a non-Indigenous family fosters an Indigenous child in Saskatchewan, the placement comes with a cultural plan. This is not optional and it is not decorative. The cultural plan is a documented commitment to maintaining the child's connection to their culture, language, community, and identity. It is part of your ongoing assessment as a foster parent.

What this looks like in practice varies by child, community, and age, but typically includes:

Maintaining community connections

You are expected to facilitate contact between the child and their home community — driving to community events, powwows, or family visits. In rural Saskatchewan, this can mean significant travel. The expectation is not that you do this weekly, but that you do it consistently and willingly.

Cultural activities and learning

You are expected to expose the child to their own cultural practices as ongoing normality: Indigenous cultural events, language exposure, traditional activities appropriate to the child's Nation, and connection with Elders or cultural mentors.

Hair and appearance

For many Indigenous cultures, hair has deep cultural and spiritual significance. Cutting an Indigenous child's hair without permission from the child's worker and community representative can be a serious violation of the cultural plan.

Food and diet

Some cultural plans include dietary considerations — traditional foods, bannock, wild game. You are not expected to become an expert in Indigenous cuisine, but you are expected to be willing and make reasonable efforts.

Identity support

An Indigenous child in a non-Indigenous home can experience identity confusion, especially over time. The cultural plan exists partly to prevent the child from losing connection with who they are. As a foster parent, you are part of maintaining that identity, not replacing it with your own.

What Non-Indigenous Families Get Wrong

Assuming goodwill is sufficient

Many non-Indigenous families approach foster care with genuine compassion. This is necessary but not sufficient. The history of Indigenous child removal in Canada — residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, the ongoing overrepresentation — means a non-Indigenous family fostering an Indigenous child operates within a context of historical harm. You do not carry personal guilt for this history, but you carry responsibility to understand it and ensure your fostering does not replicate patterns of cultural disconnection. Some community members may be skeptical of your involvement — with reason.

Underestimating the cultural plan as paperwork

The cultural plan is sometimes treated as a checkbox — something you agree to during licensing and then address minimally. Social workers assess your ongoing compliance. Families who treat it as peripheral face scrutiny that can affect placement continuity. Taking the cultural plan seriously before you are licensed means you enter with realistic expectations.

Not preparing for the child's questions

Indigenous children in care often carry questions about identity that non-Indigenous families are not prepared for. "Why do I look different from you?" is the simplest version. More complex questions emerge about why they were removed from their family, why they are not with an Indigenous family, and what their community thinks about their placement. A guide that addresses these conversations honestly helps you prepare emotionally and practically.

What the System Expects of You Specifically

Beyond the cultural plan, non-Indigenous families fostering Indigenous children in Saskatchewan should understand these system-level expectations:

Willingness to work with the child's community: You may interact with the child's Band, their delegated agency, Elders, and extended family. These relationships are part of fostering, not peripheral to it.

Understanding placement priority: If a family member or community member becomes available to care for the child, the system will prioritize that placement over yours — even after months or years. It is painful, and it is the system working as intended. Entering with this understanding prevents the devastation of feeling blindsided.

Cultural humility, not cultural expertise: You are not expected to be an expert in Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, or Métis culture. You are expected to be humble, willing to learn, and honest about what you do not know. Assessors respond better to genuine humility than to claimed cultural competence.

Supporting reunification: The goal of foster care is often reunification with the child's family. Supporting the child's return to their family or community, when that is the plan, is a core responsibility — even after months of bonding. Being prepared for this possibility from the start is part of entering the system with clarity.

Why Generic Resources Fail Here

National Canadian foster care guides do not address Saskatchewan's 80% Indigenous child population. They describe foster care in general terms that apply to Ontario's Children's Aid Society model but not to Saskatchewan's two-stream Ministry/delegated agency system. They do not discuss cultural plans in Saskatchewan-specific detail, address Bill C-92, or help you understand how to engage with a delegated agency or a child's Band. The best resource for a non-Indigenous family in Saskatchewan addresses the province's specific demographics, legal framework, cultural obligations, and two-stream system honestly.

Who This Is For

• You are a non-Indigenous family in Saskatchewan considering foster care and want to understand what fostering means when 80% of children in care are Indigenous
• You are concerned about whether you will be approved as a non-Indigenous family and want an honest assessment of the approval landscape
• You want to understand cultural plan obligations before you commit to the process, not after you are licensed
• You want preparation for the conversations, relationships, and responsibilities that come with cross-cultural fostering
• You are willing to do the work of cultural humility and want a resource that tells you concretely what that work involves

Who This Is NOT For

• You are an Indigenous family — the two-stream system section of the guide is more relevant to your decision about which agency to contact, and cultural plan obligations look different for Indigenous foster families
• You are only willing to foster non-Indigenous children — Saskatchewan's demographics make this an extremely unlikely placement scenario, and expressing this preference will raise concerns during your home study
• You are looking for a feel-good resource that avoids the uncomfortable realities of cross-cultural fostering in a province with a painful child welfare history
• You are in another province — Saskatchewan's demographics, legal framework, and two-stream system are specific to this jurisdiction

The Saskatchewan Foster Care Guide

The Saskatchewan Foster Care Guide addresses the complete licensing process and directly covers what non-Indigenous families need to know about fostering in a province where 80% of children in care are Indigenous. It includes cultural plan expectations, the placement priority framework, how to engage with the child's community and delegated agencies, the two-stream decision framework, and practical preparation for the background checks, PRIDE training, and home study. The guide costs .

Frequently Asked Questions

Will being non-Indigenous count against me in the home study?

No. The home study evaluates your fitness to foster, not your ethnicity. However, the assessor will ask about your willingness and preparedness to maintain an Indigenous child's cultural connections. Demonstrating genuine willingness, cultural humility, and a realistic understanding of what cultural connection involves works in your favour. Claiming you "don't see colour" does not.

Do I need to learn an Indigenous language?

You are not required to be fluent in Cree, Dene, or any Indigenous language. However, if the child in your care speaks or is learning an Indigenous language, you are expected to support that — through community programs, language resources, or connections with speakers. The cultural plan will address this specifically for each child.

What if the child's community does not want them placed with a non-Indigenous family?

This happens. The community's preference is a factor in placement decisions, but the overriding consideration is the child's best interest and immediate safety. If no Indigenous family is available, a non-Indigenous family may receive the placement with the understanding that community concerns will be addressed through the cultural plan.

How do I handle holidays and cultural events?

Discuss this with the child's worker and, where appropriate, with the child's community. Some children will participate in both your family's traditions and their own community's events. The expectation is flexibility and willingness to facilitate the child's participation in their own cultural celebrations, not that you abandon your own traditions.

What training on Indigenous culture is provided?

PRIDE training includes some content on cultural considerations, but it is not a deep dive into any specific Nation's culture. Many foster parents supplement with community events, reading, and workshops. The guide includes recommendations for continued cultural education.

What happens if I fail to follow the cultural plan?

Non-compliance with the cultural plan is taken seriously and can be raised during ongoing assessments. Persistent non-compliance can affect your standing as a foster parent and potentially your license. This is why understanding cultural obligations before you enter the system — rather than discovering them after placement — is so important.

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