Across occupied Indigenous nations, child protection systems remain one of the most enduring sites of colonial power. They continue to disproportionately surveil and intervene in Indigenous families, disrupting kinship networks, depriving Indigenous children of culturally enriched developmental environments, and imposing Western norms regarding family safety and wellbeing. Yet alongside these ongoing harms, Indigenous peoples are advancing powerful movements to reclaim authority over the care of their children and the right to determine their futures—movements grounded in law, culture, relationality, and sovereignty.
This Special Edition brings together scholars, practitioners, Elders, and community leaders from Australia, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Canada, and the United States of America, who are working at the forefront of this transformation. Their contributions illuminate a shared truth: Indigenous self-determination in child and family systems is not simply a policy reform; it is a return to cultural foundations, a reassertion of inherent rights, and a pathway towards collective justice.
What emerges across these articles is a rich trove of Indigenous legal orders, relational worldviews, and community-driven innovations that challenge the dominance of Western child protection frameworks. Together, they show that the future of child and family wellbeing lies not in modifying colonial systems, or making space within them for Indigenous perspectives, but rather in rebuilding systems of care that reflect Indigenous values, governance, laws, and relationships.
