Year: 2023
Location: Glenwood
Profile: Raised on the Blood reserve, Charles Fox was forced to live in St. Mary’s Residential School where he faced cruel punishments, attacks on his culture and language, and poor academic preparation. His high school education was also away from home in Edmonton and Lethbridge. Excelling in football and basketball, he gained confidence to attempt postsecondary studies. He completed a diploma in Social Counselling, a program sponsored by the Department of Indian Affairs at Lethbridge Community College. He then worked for Gulf Oil and as a ranchhand, mainly for his brother. After serving as a probation officer on local reserves for the Solicitor General’s Department in Calgary for six years, he ranched his own land while also working for Kainai Industries until he lost his land. Fox then became the Native-school liaison for all Lethbridge schools, also serving on the elected Blood tribal council. Afterwards Fox worked for 7 years as counsellor for the Blood Tribe Health Department, including 5years as coordinator for the prevention of violence and substance abuse: exhausting, work with scarce resources provided. In retirement, Fox serves as an elder for the Government of Alberta, Medicine Hat College, and reserve schools.
Keywords: Blood Reserve; Blood Tribe Health Department; Kainai Industries; Probation officer; Ranching; Residential school; Social counselling; Substance abuse prevention; Violence prevention.
Transcript: Pages 5 to 11 of the following transcript provide the primary interview with Charles Fox: Download PDF
See also: Indigenous Labour in Alberta