Update 31, Gitxsan Grandmothers Struggle with #ChildWelfare #MMIW
On June 1st, my beloved grandchild Diversity, just 15 years old, took his life. It’s a tragedy that has left our family shattered.
Diversity had a history of suicide attempts, with one of the most significant occurring on November 8, 2020, when he came to stay with me in the Lower Mainland. The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) had an open file for him, though I can’t recall the reasons behind it.
He had already been hospitalized in December 2018 after multiple attempts to end his life. During that time, Diversity bravely shared with me the horror he faced: sexual, physical, and mental abuse at the hands of his stepfather, Mike, since he was only six years old.
After being assessed and treated in a psych ward, the so-called specialists in Prince George barely scratched the surface of his PTSD. They seemed more interested in the novelty of having a transgender patient than truly supporting him. Their diagnosis? “Transgender.” That was a failure to understand the depth of his suffering.
In January 2019, he was released to live with my niece, where he began to reconnect with his biological family for the first time since he was one, embracing our Gitxsan traditions and culture. I gained guardianship while Mike lost his access rights in May 2019.
Yet, the harassment from MCFD and the Delegated Agencies began. The team leader started to scrutinize me when my boy touched Diversity’s leg, always finding a reason to criminalize our Indigenous ways. My family has faced systemic racism, with accusations of abuse, addiction, and neglect tearing apart our community without any evidence to support these claims.
Diversity confided in me about his abuse, and I consistently checked in on him and the other boys, discussing what was going well and what needed improvement. It’s incredibly challenging when your family is under the constant watch of MCFD, where rigid safety plans must be met or else face severe legal repercussions. Diversity always assured me he was fine and wanted to stay with us as my son worked on his self-improvement.
MCFD's relentless scrutiny put immense stress on us. They demanded that Diversity attend multiple counseling sessions on top of his regular therapist and school counseling, all so they could check off boxes on their lists. It felt impossible to navigate their convoluted requirements. Rather than addressing the severe trauma Diversity had endured, the counselors focused on trivial matters.
I made my complaints known, emphasizing how systemic racism continues to tear Indigenous families apart. At one point, I felt overwhelmed and thought about relinquishing my three grandchildren due to the pressure.
In my two decades of frontline work, I have never witnessed non-Indigenous families endure the same scrutiny as ours. I once heard of a woman of color whose file was opened due to her husband’s violence, and that was a rare case.
For context, I recently learned of Diversity’s passing. Skoo’bl’oos’, my little starfish.
Diversity’s biological roots are tied to significant figures in our community:
- Mother: Kaila Morrison
- Grandmother: Stephanie Morgan (Ugh’de’will’gal’um), a member of Gitxsan Fireweed
- Chief: Peggy Morgan (Woo’sim’lax’ha)
- Father: Jessie Hardisty, with ties to the Saulteaux and Soh-toh clans from Manitoba
- Grandfather: Terry Morrison, who passed in 1992, raised within the Wilp Watakhayetsxw.
After VACFSS returned Diversity, Mike took him shortly after a family tragedy. I was unable to grieve as I fought fiercely for Diversity’s return to our family without any support from Mike. Not once did his biological family ask Mike to take him away or alienate him from us.
Mike and his family spread many defamatory rumors about me, likely to maintain their façade as his saviors. Canada’s laws often protect men who abduct children, but divine justice will ultimately prevail.
Diversity faced severe abuse and neglect from his stepfamily. After several suicide attempts, a message from his school reached me in December 2018, indicating he wanted my help. Mike ensured that no one knew about Diversity’s biological family, and his relatives supported his deception as his “dad.”
I was granted interim sole parental responsibilities in January 2019, and by May of that year, I had the final order for parental responsibilities. I learned firsthand how ineffective these legal protections can be, especially when MCFD, the RCMP, and hospitals disregard Indigenous women.
When Diversity was unstable, Mike picked him up for a visit on March 20, 2021. I requested a wellness check because he had self-harmed, but the Vancouver police did nothing after Mike claimed he had “bandaged” the injury.
On March 24, 2021, Mike abducted Diversity without my consent and fled to Kitamat. A missing persons report was filed, yet the RCMP stopped Mike and allowed him to continue without any regard for the safety of my grandchild.
If Diversity had been a white child, I believe the response would have been different.
Diversity’s death has been marked as part of the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIW) crisis due to the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. The step-parents have tried to deflect blame onto Diversity, claiming bullying was the cause. However, I firmly believe that untreated trauma and the abuse he suffered were the true reasons behind his tragic decision to take his life.
I sought answers about what it would take to hold someone accountable for negligence, but the response was disheartening—“not feeding him” was the threshold.
The dynamics of abuse played a significant role in Diversity’s life. The stepfather used emotional manipulation to sway decisions in his favor. In March, he came to the Lower Mainland with the intention of taking Diversity back to Kitamat, where he had faced severe neglect and abuse. I had made it clear that any visits with Diversity would need to be supervised, as the stepfather’s spouse was also involved.
Despite my concerns, I eventually allowed a visit, given the lack of support from the hospital and MCFD. After the visit on March 21st, we found blood on Diversity’s bed and a bloody utility knife on his table. I called 911, hoping for help, but the police dismissed my concerns after talking to the stepfather.
To make matters worse, VACFSS halted my visits with my youngest grandchild, viewing the step-parents as a threat while ignoring the real danger posed to Diversity. Any other family might have been treated differently, but as an Indigenous woman, I felt powerless.
In desperation, I signed a voluntary agreement with Burnaby MCFD on March 23rd, hoping they would provide the necessary support for Diversity. Unfortunately, the very next day, he left the youth home with his stepfather. Despite a missing persons report, the RCMP allowed Mike to continue on his way to Kitamat.
The step-parents’ actions led to the neglect that ultimately took my grandchild’s life, and no one intervened to stop them.
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This rewritten version aims to reflect your voice as a Gitxsan Indigenous person while conveying the pain, frustration, and systemic injustices faced throughout Diversity’s life. I hope it serves to honor his memory and bring attention to these critical issues.
