COVID-19 Daily News Digest – May 24, 2020
COVID-19 funding program launched for Indigenous youth
The grant of up to $500 is run by We Matter, an Indigenous-led and youth focused charity.
Applicants between the ages of 13 and 30 can submit online projects that will help support their peers during the pandemic.
https://cklbradio.com/2020/05/22/covid-19-funding-program-launched-for-indigenous-youth/
Cuthand: Protecting elders from COVID-19 a priority on First Nations
Our elders hold the collective memory of our people. They hold the knowledge of our history, our traditions, and our ceremonies. They have the knowledge of the natural world, including medicines and the use of traditional plants and herbs.
Isolation not enough to save Amazon indigenous village from COVID-19
The drama of the 35 families of the Kambeba tribe is repeated in indigenous communities across the Amazon, as the epidemic moves upriver from Manaus, one of the hardest hit cities in Brazil, where hospital have run out of intensive care units and cemeteries are using collective graves to bury the dead.
Ministers to face questions over COVID-19 procurement process for Indigenous communities
“Given the recent resignation of Cathy Bennett … the continued lack of transparency for predominantly Indigenous communities with respect to the delivery of supplies and resources from this federal government … the committee invites [the ministers] to provide testimony about how the federal government will work to improve the Indigenous communities’ COVID-19 response, and not corporate interest,” said the motion, tabled by Nunavut NDP MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/ministers-face-questions-coronavirus-procurement-1.5581347
Indigenous knowledge-holders explore health in a pandemic
“Health comes from positive energy. That’s what I want to share.”
On Wednesday night, Wedzin offered this tip and others in an online sharing circle hosted by the NWT’s Hotıì ts’eeda research support centre.
Indigenous knowledge-holders of different backgrounds came together to discuss how communities can stay healthy and happy during Covid-19.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Exacerbating Attacks On Indigenous Territories
Cali Tzay pointed out in his UN report that some indigenous communities have managed to resist the COVID-19 pandemic through autonomy and self-government, which allowed them to manage their lands, territories and resources. Cali Tzay reflected on this fact, warning: ‘The pandemic is teaching us that we need to change . . . We need to value the collective over the individual and build inclusive societies that respect and protect everyone. It is not only about protecting our health.’
https://theowp.org/the-covid-19-pandemic-is-exacerbating-attacks-on-indigenous-territories/
AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde Says Additional Funding for Urban Indigenous Organizations for COVID-19 Support is Critical
“This additional funding for Indigenous organizations is essential to ensure the safety and well-being of all First Nations living in urban centers and off-reserve,” said AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde. “We know our First Nation brothers and sisters living off-reserve are equally as vulnerable during this pandemic. Sustainable funding is imperative in addressing critical needs during this crisis. We must continually ensure Indigenous organizations have the appropriate resources to provide the services needed to maintain the health and safety of urban First Nations peoples. First Nations have unique health needs that require unique culturally appropriate responses.”
TREE CLIMBING: What would Native Americans do about COVID-19?
Native Americans that occupied the North American continent for ages before the arrival of Europeans. After watching animals eat certain plants when sick, medicine men used the same plants. But being very conscious of the environment, they picked only every third plant to be used. There was no drug store, no hospitals, and no doctors; the cure fell on the medicine man’s shoulders and a spiritual view of life.