COVID-19 Daily News Digest – June 19, 2020
A very powerful moment in our history’: Southern First Nations take greater control over health care
The initiative will create a new First Nations health governance structure accountable to First Nation communities, the Southern Chiefs’ Organization wrote in a news release on Thursday. The model will be led by the community and will cover physical, spiritual, mental, economic, environmental, social and cultural wellness, it said.
Native American tribes’ pandemic response is hamstrung by many inequities
We are social scientists who study many aspects of environmental justice, including the politics of food access and food sovereignty, the impacts of extractive resource industries like uranium and fossil fuels, and how Indigenous communities navigate relationships with state and federal governments to maintain their traditional practices. As we see it, Native American communities face structural and historical obstacles related to settler colonial legacies that make it hard for them to counter the pandemic, even by drawing on innovative indigenous survival strategies.
Ottawa denying millions for First Nations child welfare prevention services, says FSIN
The non-compliance order stemmed from the tribunal’s 2016 ruling that found Ottawa discriminated against First Nations children by underfunding child-welfare services on-reserve and in Yukon.
The tribunal also ordered Ottawa to compensate children — along with some of their parents and grandparents — who were taken in the on-reserve child welfare system since 2006. The federal government is challenging the compensation order before the Federal Court.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/fsin-child-welfare-prevention-services-funding-1.5616757
Sask. Indigenous family opted out of son’s remote lessons to teach him about the land
Lewis said the pandemic is providing more of a chance for families to get outdoors, and with that comes opportunities for storytelling, which can help provide guidance in these turbulent times.
“Say if you have an opportunity to be by water, it’s OK to stop and give thanks to that water once in a while — and we don’t do that enough … In [the Indigenous] world view, we call [the elements] grandmothers and grandfathers,” he explained. “Those types of teachings are out there and they’re beautiful for all humans.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/saskatchewan-land-based-learning-covid-19-1.5605469
Managing mental wellness in the workplace and COVID-19: An Indigenous perspective – Part 2
“There are going to be mixed emotions when we get back. Emotions are going to naturally be a part of what we experience, so it’s important to remember that emotions are necessary,” Dr. Hopkins emphasizes. “The natural response to everything that we encounter in life through our emotions is natural; it’s not something that we automatically choose. We can get better at how we choose to respond.”
Photos show healthcare workers visiting remote river communities in Brazil, as coronavirus cases grow at an alarming rate
The virus has hit indigenous communities and those living in remote locations near the Amazon nearly twice as hard as the rest of the country, Business Insider reported in late May. In many cases, the only way to reach hospitals in these locations is via boat or plane.
Students create sculpture inspired by Indigenous stories via online classes
I would share some stories that my mom has shared with me … from Indigenous histories,” Robinson said. “From that, they would share … what they heard and they would say what they saw.”
Robinson, who is from Timiskaming First Nation in Quebec, led students, teachers and their parents in a ceremony in Sahalli Park in East Vancouver, where they spread oil on the carving in front of an audience.
Americans, your fantasies about Canada enable Canadians’ complacent sense of white superiority
In fact, in a national dialogue dominated by a literal sock puppet, it’s not unusual for Canadians to deny racism exists here. Earlier in June, as the protests spread throughout cities in the United States, a prominent media personality, writing in The National Post, one of Canada’s two ailing national dailies, stated that Canada is not a racist country. After a “newsroom revolt,” the Post’s opinions editor claimed that the column was the result of an editorial “miscommunication.” The story is still live on the National Post website, with a clarification note added at the top.
Vancouver Island First Nation office closed after suspected contact with COVID-19
Pauquachin administrator Susan Miller told CTV News that a community member was exposed to someone outside the Pauquachin community with a suspected case of COVID-19.
New COVID-19 cases on NW Ontario First Nations
The Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority reports four new cases of COVID-19 in two communities within its jurisdiction.
SLFNHA says these are in addition to a case that was identified on June 12.
Neither community was identified in a news release. SLFNHA said this is consistent with good pubic health practices, and respecting confidentiality and privacy.
https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/new-covid-19-cases-on-nw-ontario-first-nations-2441309
Pallister overstepping on smoking and VLTs, chief says
“He is trying to assume control and assume sovereignty, and I don’t think that has any credibility when it comes to creating covenants between nations and between peoples,” Daniels told the Free Press.
“The fact he wants to impose or create uncertainty around the jurisdiction just reflects the kind of reconciliation that he has in mind, and that is that First Nations are subordinate to his decision-making and his decisions process,” Daniels said.
Lloydminster Native Friendship Centre holds first event of 2020
Youth Coordinator Nicole Poitras says National Indigenous Peoples Day is especially important this year, and that’s why the event will go on.
“It’s just a nice day where we can celebrate our cultures, our differences, especially in what’s going on in the world today. We just hope what we do for Friday leaves people with a more positive feeling.”
‘Mixed feelings’ as some northern Ontario First Nations ease border restrictions
She says people can now travel anywhere in Ontario except for the Toronto area and band members are allowed to visit, as long as they don’t live in the Greater Toronto Area where dozens of new COVID cases are reported every day.
“We have members who do live in the GTA area and want to come back to visit family,” says Constant.
“It’s really hard on everyone. Even in the community.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/first-nations-border-closures-covid-19-pandemic-1.5615380
Coast Guard to limit interaction with Nunavummiut due to Covid-19 risk
Chris Henderson, the Coast Guard’s deputy commissioner of operations, added, “To re-emphasize, the Coast Guard has had no cases of Covid and we have maintained our operational posture uninterrupted since the pandemic began. So since mid-March we’ve been operating safely and securely with the health and safety of our crews at the top of our minds. This is really a question of a vital mission, which is Arctic resupply, and we need to ensure the integrity of that mission.