The terrible COVID-19 experience of Native American communities clearly carries lessons for Canada’s First Nations
Canadians have seen the harm the COVID-19 pandemic is doing to Native American communities in the United States, knowing it could happen to Indigenous peoples here. The infection and death rates for many Native American communities is much higher than mainstream communities. The American Indian Studies Center at the University of California published a graphic…
Talented, ambitious and resourceful Indigenous people continue to face systemic obstacles to start businesses
A Winnipeg-area Indigenous entrepreneur might hold the key to Indigenous peoples controlling their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. His experience also underscores why it’s so important to unshackle the Indigenous business community and entrepreneurial sector from restrictions imposed by the Indian Act, as well as other non-legislative barriers. Josh Giesbrecht is president and co-founder of…
Local responses to pandemic are a necessity to protect people at higher risk of infectious diseases – and a strong assertion of sovereignty, says U of A expert
On the federal government’s Indigenous Services web page, the first piece of information about COVID-19 is advice on how to wash your hands if you’re under a drinking water advisory. This highlights the multiple factors that influence Indigenous health outcomes in times of disease, said Jessica Kolopenuk, a researcher in the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Native…
U of A researchers work with community members to produce culturally appropriate information
A series of new videos co-created by University of Alberta researchers and communities in the Northwest Territories are striving to improve the use of cancer screening in the region. The series of 11 videos includes two that offer general information about cancer risks and prevention from a recognized physician in the community. The remaining nine are split…
We need to to restore cultural practices to indigenous communities, which provide more value than simply moving entire communities
Indigenous educator, activist, journalist and politician Wab Kinew has been telling scientists and health care professionals for years that culture is medicine. It's a message that must be heard. Epidemics of obesity, diabetes, infectious diseases and suicide that plague First Nation children across Canada are complex and multi-faceted. Yet government solutions often focus on simplistic biomedical…
A shared federal-provincial initiative could bring new focus to a desperate problem
By Brian Postl University of Manitoba and Pierre-Gerlier Forest University of Calgary Being an indigenous person in Canada is too often a dangerous reality. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The tragic reality is that the health of Canada’s indigenous people lags substantially behind other Canadians. The well-documented data shows the problem across all major illnesses and…
Canadians have seen the harm the COVID-19 pandemic is doing to Native American communities in the United States, knowing it could happen to Indigenous peoples here. The infection and death rates for many Native American communities is much higher than mainstream communities. The American Indian Studies Center at the University of California published a graphic…
