Decolonizing Visions for Indigenous Parental Leave, a Qualitative Analysis

Background and Purpose: The Indigenous Family Leave Experiences (IFLE) study is a community-driven, Indigenous-led qualitative story sharing project investigating the parental leave experiences of working American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) mothers in Washington state. While studies have demonstrated consistent positive health and economic outcomes associated with parental leave, research on working AIAN parents’ access to and experiences with parental leave benefits is extremely limited. AIAN people experience persistent inequities in the domains of poverty and health, and there are significant state-level paid leave program implementation gaps relative to AIAN communities. This IFLE study analysis contributes to addressing research and practice gaps through a community-based approach that centers AIAN mothers’ experiences and visions for the future of parental leave in their communities.

Methods: We hosted six individual and small group conversations with self-identified AIAN mothers (N=17) residing in seven counties in the state of Washington. Recruitment took place on social media with the involvement of community partner organizations. Effort was taken to purposively recruit mothers from diverse communities throughout the state and from both rural reservation and urban areas. Recruitment materials were designed to be welcoming to those with diverse family structures and parenting experiences. The principal investigator (Sp'q'n'i') and research assistant (Kānaka Maoli) co-led all six story sharing discussions and the subsequent analysis. Interview question domains, developed with community involvement, included (1) parental leave type and duration, (2) positive experiences and challenges related to parental leave access, (3) perspectives on parental leave design and adequacy, and (4) visions and recommendations for future parental leave policymaking. This paper focuses on the third and fourth domains. The analytic process was guided by a reflexive thematic analysis approach rooted in critical Indigenous feminist methodologies.

Results: The authors identified five themes: (1) AIAN epistemologies of parental leave transcend a more narrow focus on time and capture the place-based holistic experience of leave, (2) AIAN motherhood is an under-recognized catalyst for community-driven program design and policymaking, (3) Decolonized parental leave will incorporate and build on AIAN kinship networks as the primary social safety net for new AIAN parents both before and throughout the colonial era, (4) AIAN mothers’ analyses of their perinatal work experiences utilize multiple cultural lenses to locate strengths and gratitude, including their specific, non-monolithic cultural values and western capitalist frameworks, and (5) Collective visioning is a tool for planning and building decolonial interventions for AIAN parents and families.

Conclusions and Implications: As state-level paid family leave laws expand throughout the United States, it is critical to consider community-specific issues of access and priorities within policy development and ongoing implementation. There are important opportunities for researchers, social workers, and tribal, state, and national leaders to attend to the needs of working AIAN families when engaging in practice and policymaking for AIAN health promotion and economic wellbeing. Furthermore, centering Indigenous people and values in these efforts is imperative for a decolonizing approach. IFLE study results showcase the epistemologies and priorities that AIAN mothers emphasize as central to these processes.