COVID-19 Daily News Digest – June 5, 2020
Initiative encouraging Indigenous youth to #ProtectOurElders from COVID-19
The #ProtectOurElders campaign asks Indigenous youth to be there for their Elders by following public health recommendations.
“The health and wellbeing of our community’s most vulnerable is in our hands,” Ashley Callingbull said in a video on the campaign website.
How the COVID-19 crisis calls us towards reconciliation
“As leaders we must seize every opportunity to support reconciliation and speak out against racism … it is the duty of all Canadians to stand against racism and bigotry … hurtful comments that ignore our shared colonial history must be denounced.”
https://theconversation.com/how-the-covid-19-crisis-calls-us-towards-reconciliation-139259
Food as Medicine on the Navajo Nation
“What Amy is doing by providing this nutrient-dense food with shelf life is really important,” added Begay. “It provides a long-term solution for some families. It helps them stay home. It helps them reduce their travel and reduce contact with people needing to go to the grocery store.”
Indigenous storytelling brings important perspectives to the pandemic dialogue
“Western science and medicine are all our people are hearing about, and that’s a problem.” And a problem, we can argue, for all of us during this difficult time. In addition to western science, coping and healing through trauma needs holistic solutions, which include storytelling, lessons from our ancestors and guidance from Elders. This is why ii’ taa’poh’to’p, UCalgary’s Indigenous Strategy, is launching a series of videos in June, National Indigenous History month, which will offer ongoing wisdom from Elders.
Delay in national action plan to tackle anti-Indigenous racism disheartening: former grand chief
“Our young people are the biggest hope. I think they have the possibility of changing the narrative going forward, but this has been persistent for generations… Now, we’re seeing this being played out in all forms in all industries and businesses so it’s not a surprise, it is a systemic problem,” North said.
Who owns the coronavirus? Pandemic sparks debate over data sharing
“It is morally wrong to think that someone has a stronger claim to a vaccine because they happen to live in a rich country,” said Mark Eccleston-Turner, co-author of a recent paper on the issue of viral sovereignty.
The international legal system encourages countries to look at viruses as their “sovereign resources that can be bargained and bartered away in exchange for future health goods such as vaccines,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation
Mines are hotspots for spread of Covid-19, study finds
The Alberta government’s energy regulator has suspended monitoring altogether. The province’s energy minister declared that the pandemic was “a great time to be building a pipeline”.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/05/mines-coronavirus-hotspots-report-us-canada
Brazil’s indigenous tribes witness higher death toll due to virus spread
The numbers may be small compared to the rest of Brazil, which now has the second largest outbreak in the world, but they are significant because they show the virus has taken hold in vulnerable communities where doctors fear the spread will prove devastating.
https://www.geo.tv/latest/291447-brazils-indigenous-tribes
Sharing is tradition : Hotıì ts’eeda’s sharing circle goes live
In addition, Hotıì ts’eeda organized a panel of community leaders, experts, and medical professionals to contribute to the conversation of COVID-19 health response.
“Because language is a huge part of our identity and culture, we must keep those traditions by sharing our opinions and experiences. My goal is to share my message in fighting the pandemic. We need to get to the other side. We need to continue to work together in unity to prevent COVID-19 from re-entering the NWT,” Wedzin said.
MP Ashton leans on experience during COVID-19 crisis
“We know that our communities do not have the capacity to deal with a minimal spread, never mind a surge. The reason why we’ve been able to curb the spread of COVID-19 so far is because of the incredible steps being taken by many communities, including First Nations who have implemented lockdowns.”
First Nations, environmentalists ask for restart of oilpatch monitoring
The letter says a lengthy suspension would hurt Alberta’s energy industry and reduce jobs in the sector.
The letter was signed by three First Nations, two environmental groups, the Environmental Law Centre and the Pembina Institute, a clean-energy think tank.