Over the past few years, Sioux Valley Dakota Nation and Dakota Tiwahe Services (DTS) have been working diligently towards DTS becoming a mandated child and family services agency. We are pleased to advise that effective July 4, 2022, DTS will be mandated as a child and family services agency. This is an important interim step by Sioux Valley Dakota Nation towards full jurisdiction over child and family services for our citizens.
The DTS mandate means:
1.) DTS will provide child and family services to Sioux Valley Dakota Nation citizens;
2.) Dakota Ojibway Child and Family Services will no longer provide child and family services to our community and our citizens;
3.) DTS’s mandate is province wide meaning we will provide child and family services to our children and families on and off reserve in Manitoba;
To be clear, we see the provincial mandate as an interim measure and steppingstone towards our plan for exercising our jurisdiction over child and family services, through our own Sioux Valley Dakota Nation laws, as recognized in our Self Government Agreement. Sioux Valley Dakota Nation continues to prioritize the development of our own Dakota CFS law to replace provincial laws. We anticipate further advancements towards the goal of exercising our own jurisdiction to occur within the next year.
Please contact DTS at 204-855-2205 for any questions you may have on this important expansion of services.
