SaltMeat.com – For people that have Newfoundland Salt Spray in their Blood!

My wife and I live in the Lower 48 and we are interested in adopting an Inuit child. My great grandmother was a well-known Inuit author and an ambassador for the Inuit culture. Subsequently I have Inuit blood and ties to Labrador and Newfoundland, Canada. We are on the front end of investigating adoption but we both are interested in the prospect of expanding our family in a way that celebrates my Inuit heritage while providing a loving environment for a child. If you can provide any information regarding this topic we would greatly appreciate it.

Because you are not Canadian, its more complicated and would be considered an international adoption. Keep that in mind when you do your research as it may help you find the right information.

Also, you say that you have Inuit blood and ties. So what you need to know (or research if you don’t already know) is what band you are associated with, also do you have status or would you qualify for status.

Inuit and other native adoptions are different than other Canadian adoptions in the sense that the band the child is associated with has a large say in what happens to the child. To start, their preference is always to keep the child within their band if possible. In the event they cannot find other kin or band members to adopt the child, they will consider outsiders. For that they want to know about your status and associations. It won’t be enough to say who your aunt was, you would likely be expected to back it up with official paperwork.

They also look for people who will continue to encourage the child’s connection to their band. So someone who lives close to their area who is willing to take the child to regular events and possibly schooling will also be given precedence over someone who lives farther.

Prospective parents who won’t continue to facilitate and encourage those relationships won’t likely be considered.

Your best bet will likely be to connect with your local foster care system, and have your information and preferences included on your profile. That way if a child comes up who may have some inuit in them but is not associated with a band or does not have status (and is in the USA – lower 48) you may be considered first.

For more details you can contact any children’s aid society in Newfoundland & labrador, but I think they will give you the same information I did.

Best wishes

It’s occurred to me that while the Atlantic provinces here in Canada are very… unique in culture (no offense intended at all–I love it there), very rarely have I heard of the East Coast states being quite like them. I’m a Canadian, of course, and admittedly don’t know a lot about Americans, so I’m curious for those who know people in Maine and the other "maritime" states: is there much similarity in culture? The people, the accents, the lifestyle–is the Eastern Seaboard as different from the rest of the country as Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and P.E.I. are in Canada?

Again, I mean absolutely no offense to anyone from the Maritimes, Eastern Seaboard or otherwise. I’m only curious.

Very much alike, if the last 300 years count. There remains a very close relationship between Boston and Halifax which dates to the Halifax Explosion of 1917.
The TV series "Haven", from Stephen King’s novelette and set in Maine (where else?) was taped in Chester and Lunenburg NS.
As for accents, you’ll hear definite similarities between a South Shore lobsterman and a Gloucester fisherman.
Until recently there was a ferry link between Yarmouth and Bar Harbour, which both sides want returned, and there has been talk of a Boston-Halifax link.
There is a classic boat race from Marblehead to Halifax every two years.

p.s. Newfoundland isn’t a Maritime Province; it’s a glorious world unto itself.