COVID-19 Daily News Digest – May 14, 2020
Differing reports reveal data gap in COVID-19 case counts for Indigenous people in Canada
“First, there is no agency or organization in Canada reliably recording and releasing COVID-19 data that indicates whether or not a person is Indigenous,” the report explains, and since there aren’t many First Nations who control the delivery of their own health care, many Indigenous people rely on the provincial health-care system and institutions.
On Indigenous Nurses Day, meet 2 women bringing First Nations perspectives to health care
“I think that it’s incredibly important to have those Indigenous health care workers that our people can actually relate to because there are lots of Indigenous people out there who need us to care for each other and to lift each other up and and build our communities,” said Bowers
“We bring a post-colonial and anti-racist approach, so we integrate the legacy of colonization as well as trauma-informed care. That leads to having a non-biased approach,” said Wallace.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/indigenous-nurses-day-may13-1.5568790
Stó:lō First Nation eyes claim over Lightning Rock site in path of Trans Mountain
“They have found ways to conveniently drag their heels or drag the work out and they are doing it under the auspices of COVID-19,” said Wilson.
Wilson and Silver wrote Stefan Matiation, director general of the specific claims branch with Crown-Indigenous Relations, on April 22 expressing concern over the significant slow down — if not outright halting — of work on claims by the department.
The department has deemed dealing with specific claims a “non-essential” activity during the COVID-19 pandemic and some negotiations have entirely stopped, said the letter.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/sumas-first-nation-lightning-rock-tmx-1.5566941
South Dakota governor tries to crush Native American efforts to contain the coronavirus
Julian Bear Runner, president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, echoed this sentiment on Facebook, asserting that, “We have an inherent and sovereign right to protect the health of our people, and no one, man or woman, can dispute that right.
P.E.I. Native Council says members face mental health, housing and other struggles through pandemic
The weekly meetings were also a way to make sure people were fed, said Bradley. “So a lot of people who are lower-income families don’t have that extra food.”
Bradley said the council is doing what it can to respond to individual requests for food, traditional medicine and other support.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-native-council-covid-housing-1.5568522
Land rights essential to protect biodiversity and indigenous cultures
“However, a large body of evidence points to the highly detrimental impacts of down-grading the current protection status of Indigenous Lands, whose legislative status has been hard-won over many years. We hope that Brazil’s current and future executive administrations and National Congress will explicitly consider both indigenous welfare and the multiple irreplaceable benefits flowing from Indigenous Lands.”
https://phys.org/news/2020-05-rights-essential-biodiversity-indigenous-cultures.html
The coronavirus in the Amazon threatens indigenous peoples at their core
According to the organisation, over 40,500 coronavirus cases have been recorded in the region, as well as at least 2,500 deaths. “We ask for international help. If we keep on waiting for governments, our people will continue dying. And we don’t want to go extinct,”
Coronavirus laws discriminate against Indigenous Australians, communities say
“We don’t have basic access to the nearest towns to get essentials — I’m talking about toiletries, I’m talking about warm clothing.”
Ms Yeatman said the community cannot travel to Cairns, about 50-kilometres away by road, but visible across the wide estuary that divides the two communities, to do shopping without having to quarantine for two weeks on the return home.
Report reveals the true COVID-19 data for Indigenous people in Canada
“These data issues are not limited to the healthcare sector,” the report goes on to explain. “The same gaps in data collection exist in child welfare and were a primary reason why the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was unable to definitively identify the number of Indigenous women who have been murdered or are missing.”
Photos: The Coronavirus in Brazil
As of today, Brazil has reported 180,737 cases of COVID-19, and a total of 12,635 deaths—with thousands of new cases recorded just yesterday. One physician in São Paulo said he feared the country might become “the next epicenter of the pandemic.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2020/05/photos-coronavirus-brazil/611608/