COVID-19 Daily News Digest – November 15, 2020
Manitoba First Nation battles ‘outbreak within an outbreak’ as all 28 residents infected at care home
Infections at the Rod McGillivary Memorial Care Home on Opaskwayak Cree Nation so far include all 28 of its residents and 13 of the home’s 48 workers, said Onekanew (Chief) Christian Sinclair.
“The way it was put to us by the team was that we have an outbreak within an outbreak,” Sinclair said.
“It’s a very tough situation to deal with, knowing that 28 of our elders are infected with COVID-19…. That really hits home, because it’s everyone’s loved one that’s supposed to be safe in an environment like that.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/opaskwayak-cree-nation-care-home-outbreak-1.5802375
Acoma tribal governor says hospital cut vital services
Vallo said the decision by Indian Health Service to curtail services at Acoma is “baffling.” He says tribal members will have to travel an hour by car for intensive medical care in Albuquerque, where emergency rooms are strained by the contagion.
“The Indian Health Service carried out its underhanded actions without any meaningful consultation with the Pueblo,” he said in the statement. “It also failed to adequately inform Congress, a federal requirement.”
Leaked Alberta school curriculum in urgent need of guidance from Indigenous wisdom teachings
The leaked documents also show signs that the authors prefer a “back to the basics” approach that stresses learning key facts. The authors express nostalgia for an imagined simpler time when students were required to memorize key dates and events related to the history of the Canadian nation, heritage and Indigenous Peoples. These dates include histories such as 1701 being the date when the Great Peace of Montréal between New France and 39 First Nations was established or 1885 as the date of the second Riel Rebellion/Métis Resistance.
Manitoba claws back COVID-19 benefit from Inuit Elder
“Is one government allowed to steal from another government when it comes to the health of people relying on both governments?” she wondered.
Salluviniq’s $750 payment came from the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, which received approximately $4.3 million from the federal Indigenous Community Support Fund.
The $120-million fund was created in March to help Inuit, First Nation and Metis Peoples with emergency coronavirus expenses, but Manitoba sees it as additional income for those on provincial benefits.
Suffering in the dark
Collection of race-based data, or the failure to do so, has been the subject of much discussion during the pandemic. Such data can show policy-makers and the public the disparate impacts health crises can have.But without the robust collection and publication of data, it’s difficult to say whether the same thing is happening here.
In May, Manitoba became one of the first provinces to announce it would begin collecting race-based data related to COVID-19. But at the time, chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin wouldn’t commit to its release. Seven months later, Manitobans still do not have access to the data.
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/special/coronavirus/suffering-in-the-dark-573069412.html
Three-year funding focuses on Indigenous students’ well-being
“We appreciate the Government of Ontario’s continued support of the work done by our partners to assist our students who have to leave their communities and attend urban centers to achieve their high school diploma,” Deputy Grand Chief Derek Fox said in a statement. “As we continue to address the long-standing systemic issues our students face, we look forward to a positive productive relationship with the province.”
Indigenous community response to coronavirus a blueprint for self-determination
They could do this by reading Indigenous writers, listening to Indigenous media and then understanding conversations and viewpoints from an Indigenous perspective, Dr Mann said.
While there needed to be a shared understanding, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people also needed opportunities and resources to carry out self-determination, she said.
“That requires a lot from non-Indigenous people and it sounds simple, but it actually requires a lot of letting go and trusting that First Nations people, who have been here for 100,000 years, know what’s best for our own community.”
10 B.C. Indigenous groups get federal funding to rebuild their governance structure
Receiving $2.6 million through the 2020-21 Nation Rebuilding Program include the Beaver People in northeastern British Columbia and northwestern Alberta, Gitanyow Huwlip Society, Gitxsan Treaty Society, Lake Babine Nation, Secretariat of the Haida Nation, Tiyt Tribe, Southern Dakelh Nation Alliance Society, Stellat’en and Nadleh Whut’en First Nations, Office of the Wet’suwet’en and WSANEC Leadership Council Society.
Prior to making the announcement late Thursday afternoon (Nov. 12), Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett met virtually with the Gitanyow Huwlip Society Hereditary Chiefs to learn more about the work being undertaken in their northwestern B.C. nation.