Adopting an Indigenous Child in the NWT: The Cultural Connection Plan

Approximately 85% of children in the care of the Director of Child and Family Services in the Northwest Territories are Indigenous. For non-Indigenous families considering adoption in the NWT, this is a number with significant implications — not as a barrier, but as a commitment.

The NWT system does not prohibit non-Indigenous families from adopting Indigenous children. What it does is hold those families to a higher and more specific standard of cultural accountability than any generic adoption guide will prepare you for. That standard is codified in Standard 10.15 of the CFS Standards and Procedures Manual and expressed practically through the Cultural Connection Plan.

Why This Requirement Exists

The history of Indigenous child removal in Canada — the residential school system and what became known as the Sixties Scoop, in which tens of thousands of Indigenous children were removed from their families and placed in non-Indigenous homes, often losing their language, culture, and community ties entirely — informs every element of the current NWT approach to cross-cultural adoption.

Bill C-92, the federal Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (in force since January 2020 and affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2024 as a constitutional exercise of Indigenous jurisdiction), establishes national minimum standards that prioritize cultural preservation in all decisions about Indigenous children. The NWT's Standard 10.15 implements and extends these standards.

The intent is not to make cross-cultural adoption impossible. It is to ensure that when an Indigenous child is placed with a non-Indigenous family, that placement does not function as another form of cultural erasure.

What a Cultural Connection Plan Must Include

Standard 9.5 and Standard 10.15 require that a Cultural Support Plan be developed for any Indigenous child placed in a non-Indigenous home. The plan must address four specific areas:

Language. The plan must include concrete opportunities for the child to learn their traditional language. In the NWT, this might be Dene Zhatie, Inuvialuktun, Tlicho (Dogrib), Gwich'in, Cree, or Michif, depending on the child's community of origin. This does not require the adoptive family to be fluent — but it requires a genuine plan for access, whether through language classes, community programs, Elders, or digital resources.

Community. The plan must include regular visits to the child's home community and territory. In the NWT, this is logistically demanding. Getting a child from Yellowknife to their home community in Aklavik or Deline may involve flights, road closures, and significant cost. A realistic plan acknowledges those logistics and commits to specific steps anyway.

Heritage. The plan must include participation in traditional activities. Hunting, fishing, trapping, community feasts, drum dances, beading, and seasonal land-based activities are the kinds of engagement the plan is looking for. This is not ceremonial box-checking — HSS workers follow up on whether these commitments are being honored.

Rights preservation. The plan must address how the child's Treaty status, land claim benefits, and eligibility for federally funded programs (including Jordan's Principle) will be maintained and protected after adoption. An Indigenous child who is adopted does not lose their inherent rights — and the adoptive family has an obligation to ensure those rights are accessible.

The Genogram Requirement

As part of the assessment and planning process for any adoption involving an Indigenous child, HSS uses a genogram — a family diagram that maps the child's biological relationships across multiple generations. The genogram is not merely an administrative record. It is a tool for understanding the child's kinship network, identifying community members who might serve as mentors or cultural connectors, and planning how the child will maintain those relationships post-adoption.

Prospective adoptive families who are asked to participate in genogram development should understand that this is the system's way of ensuring the child's relational world does not disappear with the adoption.

Bill C-92 Placement Priorities: What They Mean for Non-Indigenous Families

Under the national minimum standards established by Bill C-92, the placement priority hierarchy for Indigenous children is:

1. With a parent
2. With an adult family member
3. With a community member
4. With any other Indigenous family
5. With a non-Indigenous family (requires demonstrated cultural competency)

Non-Indigenous families are not excluded — they are fifth in line. In practice, this means that before a non-Indigenous family is matched with an Indigenous child, HSS must be satisfied that no suitable Indigenous family or community member is available and willing to adopt. This is not a formality; HSS maintains active connections with Indigenous Governing Bodies (IGBs) and kinship networks when a child is in care.

For non-Indigenous families who do reach the matching stage, the cultural connection plan is the primary mechanism for demonstrating that the child's cultural identity will be genuinely maintained.

What the Home Study Looks For

During the home study, the HSS social worker will assess cultural competency directly. This includes:

• Understanding of the residential school system and its ongoing impacts
• Knowledge of the specific Indigenous nation the child comes from (Gwich'in, Tlicho, Inuvialuit, Sahtu, Dene, Métis — these are distinct nations with distinct cultures and languages)
• Existing relationships with Indigenous community members, Elders, or organizations
• Willingness to actively seek out cultural mentors for the child
• Concrete plans for maintaining community connection, not just vague commitments

Families who come to the home study having already identified a potential cultural mentor or community contact — someone from the child's nation who is willing to maintain a relationship with the child — are in a substantially stronger position than those who describe this as something they plan to figure out later.

Practical Steps for Non-Indigenous Families

Identify the child's nation early. Before a specific match, this means understanding the major Indigenous groups in the NWT: Dene (including Gwich'in, Tlicho, Sahtu, Dehcho, and Akaitcho), Inuvialuit, and Métis. Each has distinct cultural practices and governance structures.

Connect with Indigenous organizations. The Dene Nation, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the Tlicho Government, and the Métis Nation of the NWT all have offices and can be contacted for guidance on appropriate cultural engagement.

Understand Jordan's Principle. First Nations children are eligible for federally funded services under Jordan's Principle regardless of their adoption status. An adoptive family needs to understand how to access these supports.

Commit to the long term. Standard 10.15 describes the cultural connection obligation as permanent — it does not end when the child turns 18. Families who approach this as a long-term relational commitment rather than a short-term compliance task are the ones who build genuinely successful cross-cultural families.

The Northwest Territories Adoption Process Guide includes a Cultural Connection Plan template and a practical guide to identifying and engaging with the relevant Indigenous Governing Body for a child's specific nation — including the regional contacts and the specific commitments that HSS social workers look for during home study assessment and post-placement monitoring.

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