Cindy Blackstock

Cindy Blackstock, PhD, started the #COVIDkindness hashtag inviting people to do something every day to make the world better while still following public health guidelines. As Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, she enlisted their mascot Spirit Bear for the #Hibernating4Health campaign on www.fncaringsociety.com to provide information and activities for First Nations children, youth and families during the COVID-19 crisis. Cindy Blackstock is a member of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation’s COVID-19 Impact Committee.

A member of the Gitxsan First Nation, she is honoured to serve as the Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and a professor at McGill University’s School of Social Work. She has over 30 years of experience working in child welfare and Indigenous children’s rights and has published more than 75 articles on topics relating to reconciliation, Indigenous theory, First Nations child welfare and human rights. Cindy Blackstock was honoured to work with First Nations colleagues on a successful human rights challenge to Canada’s inequitable provision of child and family services and failure to implement Jordan’s Principle. This hard-fought litigation has resulted in hundreds of thousands of services being provided to First Nations children, youth and families.

She recently served on the Pan American Health Commission on Health Equity and Inequity and fundamentally believes that culturally-based equity is fundamental to meaningful reconciliation. Cindy Blackstock is frequently sighted in the company of the Caring Society’s reconciliation Am-bear-rister, Spirit Bear, engaging children in meaningful actions to implement the TRC Calls to Action.