COVID-19 Daily News Digest – December 3, 2020
Indigenous Services minister says Trudeau government won’t end boil-water advisories by March 2021
Miller said the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to delays in upgrading or completing water systems and also created supply chain problems. He said some First Nations reserves have restricted who is allowed into the communities to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“While there have been many reasons for the delay, I want to state as clearly as possible that ultimately I bear the responsibility for this and I have the responsibility and duty to get this done,” Miller told reporters Wednesday.
FSIN says it’s imperative for First Nations to be on COVID-19 vaccine priority list
“It is imperative that First Nations are on the priority list for the COVID-19 vaccine. First Nations people make up an overwhelming number of vulnerable community members, both on and off-reserve, therefore, requiring priority access to vaccinations once they are made available to the public,” a press release from the FSIN reads.
B.C. First Nation leaders await privacy decision on COVID-19 case information
“First Nations people are significantly more likely to experience an overdose event or death, and more likely to contract COVID-19, than non-Indigenous people in B.C.,” the report stated in one of its 11 key findings.
Specific challenges reported to the review included lack of access to data, lack of resourcing for prevention and security, and lack of integration of First Nations in the supply chain for personal protective equipment and other necessary emergency supplies, the report added.
Native Americans Respond to COVID-19 With Success Despite Lack of Government Support
In our analysis, tribal nations have implemented guidelines and policies that appear to be far more effective than those used by the states they are in. These responses include locking down roads and implementing guidelines earlier and more carefully than others and developing relevant modes of delivery of supplies. Their response shows that Indigenous nations and communities know what they need; they are the directors of their own protective measures.
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/native-americans-covid-19-response/
COVID-19 in Indigenous communities: outbreaks continue on the Prairies
As of Nov. 30, there have been a total of 3,989 cases on-reserve since the pandemic started. The death toll rose from 28 to 34 over the course of the week, and 19 additional hospitalizations were reported bringing the total to 162. The number of First Nations people who have recovered from the disease reached 2,385.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/indigenous-covid-19-update-1.5823739
Third Wave Coronavirus Infections Devastate Colorado’s Native American And Hispanic Communities
Vijan said those hospitalized are often elderly, on Medicare, many living in nursing facilities. Many have poor access to primary care and a host of chronic conditions, like diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure.
“They’re very vulnerable. There’s no question,” he said. “I think what we’re seeing today is exactly what we saw in the first wave.”
Indigenous-led answers urged for health-care gaps
“Joyce is one example, but there are so many examples that don’t get documented and that’s why it’s really important that we document that because Joyce’s story or my son’s story are not unique.”
“At its foundation, Indigenous public health must be self-determined: adapted for the needs of specific nations and grounded in local Indigenous language, culture and ways of knowing; developed, implemented and led by Indigenous Peoples,” they write.
Indigenous entrepreneurs hope to bridge their culture and Fort McMurray with trading network
“Trading is just one small piece of the systems we had in place before settler arrival,” said Croucher. “Through trading, we’re hopefully teaching the broader community about how part of Indigenous culture is about including everybody.
Once the COVID-19 pandemic ends, Croucher hopes to organize in-person events, such as a market, an Indigenous cultural theatre production and fashion show.
Brazil: The “MinersOutCovidOut” petition calls for expulsion of 20,000 illegal miners from Yanomami Indigenous Territory
The “MinersOutCovidOut” petition calls for the immediate expulsion of 20,000 illegal miners from inside the Yanomami Indigenous Territory. The miners have brought in outside diseases such as Covid-19 and malaria, and their prospecting has polluted the rivers.
Jair Bolsonaro’s government backs the miners. Its actions have seriously hampered efforts to prevent Covid-19 spreading inside indigenous territories. Little has been done to remove the miners, whose numbers have increased dramatically in recent years.
Bill to implement UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on the way
The federal government is expected to introduce a bill Thursday aimed at ensuring the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
That bill, introduced by former NDP MP Romeo Saganash, stalled in the Senate, where Conservative senators argued it could have unintended legal and economic consequences.
First COVID-19 cases detected in Nova Scotia First Nation
“We didn’t want to get it — nobody does, of course — but it happened, so I think if we plan accordingly and take the proper steps, we’ll push right through it,” he said.
“I don’t want anybody to feel like they’re alienated or whatnot. Nobody goes out looking for it,” he said. “I just hope the people that did get it do their part, self-isolate and don’t jeopardize anyone else’s health.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/first-covid-19-cases-detected-ns-first-nation-1.5825904
First Nations Finance Authority Reaches Major Milestone Surpassing $1 Billion in Loans to Indigenous Communities
“Working with Indigenous communities, we are beginning to see real results in addressing the huge infrastructure gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada,” said Ernie Daniels, President and CEO of the First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA). “The projects we are financing are helping to bring fresh water, better health care, green energy projects and modern infrastructure to First Nations that have created jobs and are building the Indigenous economy.”
Bringing Indigenous perspectives to the centre of health practitioner training
There are eight one-week intensive courses. They are offered two at a time, twice a year, by the UBC’s Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health explains Program Manager Rhonda Carriere. The centre has a mandate to raise the health status and self-determination of Indigenous communities.
The program works to decrease barriers Indigenous Peoples face when entering the healthcare field explains Carriere. The training also seeks to address multiple, intersecting Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, including number 23, which calls for increased numbers of Indigenous health practitioners.