COVID-19 Daily News Digest – July 11, 2020
Government of Canada supports Nishnawbe Aski Nation’s Mental Health and Addictions Program for Northern Ontario First Nations
Keewaytinook Okimakanak (KO) eHealth and Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA) will run the program, which is designed to provide community members with equal access to high-quality, culturally safe substance use treatment and mental health services with direct input from communities. The services will be coordinated, delivered and promoted by the Regional Health Authorities, Tribal Councils, and community organizations within the NAN region, and will offer access to 24/7 culturally appropriate crisis supports, triage and live service navigation, improved usage of tele-mental health supports, and will help eliminate duplication in existing mental health and problematic substance use services.
B.C. human rights commissioner ready to tackle race-based health data collection
Outside of Indigenous groups, B.C. has not been collecting data on how COVID-19 is impacting people based on their race. And prior to the pandemic, a 2018 report by Health Canada found significant health inequalities were already observed for racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants and Indigenous peoples.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/race-based-data-collection-1.5645373
Bolsonaro is a ‘poster boy’ for unproven treatment
“They’re trying to use the Indigenous people as guinea pigs to test chloroquine, use the Indigenous to advertise for chloroquine like Bolsonaro has done on his live broadcasts, like a poster boy for chloroquine,” Kretã Kaingang, an executive coordinator of the Indigenous organization APIB, said by phone from Brazil’s capital, Brasilia.
Amazon tribes cling to isolation to save them from coronavirus tragedy in Brazi
Brazil has more than 1.7 million confirmed Covid-19 cases. Only the United States has more. The virus has already reached six other villages in the same Xingu river basin, the first area in the country to be granted protected status in 1961.
Bill Would Give Tribes 2 More Years To Spend COVID-19 Funds
Rep. Tom O’Halleran, D-Ariz., and Rep. Paul Cook, R-Calif., introduced H.R. 7557 on Thursday, which would extend the window for tribal governments to spend funding they have received under the coronavirus relief package, a $2 trillion law that included an $8 billion “tribal stabilization fund.”
While the relief legislation set 30 days from its March 27 enactment as the deadline for the U.S. Department of the Treasury to distribute the funds, the initial $4.8 billion based on population data didn’t start going out to tribes until May 5, amid lawsuits from federally recognized tribes challenging the delay and the inclusion of Alaska Native corporations in the Treasury’s allocation plan.
Rogers Communications and Atlohsa Healing Services work together to keep families connected
“Rogers has offered the phones to Atlohsa primarily for women who are experiencing violence in the community or are staying in the agency’s shelter,” says executive director Raymond Deleary in a recent phone interview. “Now phones are being offered to a wider variety of community members in need.”
Deleary explains that having a phone will help ensure members are connected to Atlohsa and other services so that they can contact somebody if they need assistance, or just to talk to someone for support during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic
Regional Chief Ghislain Picard: Oka Crisis still serves as a reference because nothing has changed
Although the Oka crisis has sadly left its indelible mark in our minds, it can still serve as a reference because nothing has really changed in thirty years. However, the social and political divide between First Nations and part of the Quebec population is the result of decades of injustice and forced measures. It is obvious that subjecting an entire population to such actions can only leave wounds that are still open today. Quebec is no exception in this regard; examples abound around the world.
‘Haida Gwaii is closed’: Matriarchs occupy territory as fishing lodges reopen amid COVID-19
The Gaandlee Guu Jaalang, or “daughters of the rivers,” issued a statement Friday asking fishing lodges to “reconsider opening during our local state of emergency, as with our limited medical resources, one case would devastate our community.”
Spokesperson Adeana Young says visitors to the fishing lodges move through the community, leaving a “trail of risk” in their wake.
Government of Canada supports Nishnawbe Aski Nation’s Mental Health and Addictions Program for Northern Ontario First Nations
Our First Nations are taking extraordinary measures to keep safe, and many community members are experiencing heightened feelings of isolation and uncertainty, which has understandably resulted in increased levels of anxiety and depression. Without proper supports, people in these circumstances often turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms, and we need to ensure they receive the support they require. This innovative program sets out pathways to access mental health and addiction services and incorporates 24/7 rapid-access emergency and crisis support for members on and off reserve. I congratulate everyone involved in its development, and I thank the government for their quick action to fund these much-needed services.”