COVID-19 Daily News Digest – November 25, 2020
Interest in online Indigenous language class spikes during COVID-19
Theresa O’Watch teaches Nakoda language classes online through the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council. They can be found online or through the tribal council’s app.
Before the pandemic, she would have a small group in person at the Friendship Centre in Regina. Since moving online the class has continued to grow.
“It’s been an amazing response,” O’Watch told The Morning Edition host Stefani Langgenegger. “I believe we have well over 150 and climbing.”
North Island First Nations update COVID-19 response after ‘Auntie Bonnie’s’ recommendations
Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw First Nations is setting up a checkpoint at the entrance to the Tsulquate reserve, to take effect Nov. 27. In the meantime, signage is still posted requesting that all visitors wear masks and that anyone with COVID-19 symptoms or anyone who has travelled within the last 14 days to not enter the reserve.
The acceleration of the slow genocide of Native Americans during COVID-19
“IHS facilities are typically more like clinics, and as such they’re lucky to have even five ventilators or even five beds in the ICU,” Falcon said. “Not to mention that Missouri is not a native state, so the closest facility for an individual in, for instance, Saint Louis, is in Oklahoma, about four hours away.”
Nearly 250 more COVID-19 cases identified among Manitoba’s First Nations people
The PRCT is also reporting four new deaths, including a woman in her 70s from Winnipeg; a man in his 60s from the Northern Regional Health Authority; a man in his 30s from Winnipeg; and a man in his 40s from Winnipeg.
According to the report, the five-day test positivity rate is higher among Manitoba’s First Nations people compared to the province as a whole. The test positivity rate for on reserve First Nations people is 21 per cent, while it’s 19 per cent for those living off reserve
Former Blackhawks player Fred Sasakamoose, one of NHL’s first Indigenous players, dies of COVID-19
Sasakamoose died at age 86 in his hometown of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada after being hospitalized last week with wheezing, chest pains and other complications related to COVID-19, The Canadian Press reported.
“Today we lost a luminary in the hockey world,” the Blackhawks said in a team statement. “Fred inspired many across the sport and throughout North America.”
Sasakamoose made history during the 1953-54 season when he appeared in 11 games for the Blackhawks.
Indigenous language loss, thawing ice, protected area risks: 3 stories you may have missed
“The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated many Indigenous groups in the Amazon, especially in Brazil,” Conservation International’s Johnson Cerda, an Indigenous Kichwa of the Ecuadorian Amazon, told Conservation News in a recent interview. “Not only are many people dying from the virus, coronavirus-related restrictions have impacted local economies, cultural practices and food security.” According to Cerda, the most effective way to help Indigenous peoples weather crises such as COVID-19 — and preserve their cultures — is to grant them formal rights to their lands: “Rather than trying to take over lands or make all of the decisions of how to protect a certain area, governments and environmental organizations must instead work with Indigenous peoples to ensure that everyone’s interests are taken into account.”
COVID-19 ENFORCEMENT UPDATE
In total, 79 warnings and 95 tickets were issued last week between Nov. 16 to 22, a significant increase from the week prior, when 54 warnings and 30 tickets were issued. This includes nine $5,000 tickets to business, and 55 $1,296 tickets to individuals. Three band bylaw tickets were also issued by the Manitoba First Nations Police Service.
https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?item=49900
Over 50 First Nations supplied with PPE by Indigenous-owned company
“Especially to be able to be Indigenous and helping other Indigenous communities in the fight against COVID, it feels really good to help the general public as well,” says customer service representative Kenzie Wilson.
“We learned a lot over the last eight months both in technology and in science, methods we can fight the disease with. That innovation is really what our company became about.”
COVID-19 in Indigenous communities: what you need to know
The active COVID-19 caseload in northern Saskatchewan reserves more than doubled with overcrowding, poor housing conditions cited as contributing factors. An outbreak in Fond du Lac Denesuline Nation had the Athabasca Health Authority warning that rule-breakers in the community will cause more COVID-19 infections, after some people who have been exposed to COVID-19 have refused to get tested or self isolate.
As of Nov. 23, there have been a total of 3,224 cases on-reserve since the pandemic started. Twenty-three additional hospitalizations were reported since last week bringing the total to 143 and eight additional deaths were reported bringing the death toll to 28. The number of First Nations people who have recovered from the disease reached 1,858.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/indigenous-covid-19-update-1.5814489
Minister Vandal, partners to the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework meet to discuss priorities for the North and Arctic
Since the Framework was launched in September 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges especially in Arctic and Northern communities. Today’s meeting provided an important platform for partners to identify ongoing issues related to COVID-19, including how to address the cost of goods, continuation of supply chains, health supports; housing and infrastructure, education, and connectivity.
Through Budget 2019, Canada made an initial investment of over $700 million towards Framework implementation. Framework partners are informing targeted federal investments that meet the needs of Northerners and supporting Indigenous community-based solutions to prevent, prepare and respond to the spread of COVID-19.
Majority of Indigenous, community leaders want to see GNWT spend less on isolation hubs: report
That’s according to a report, initiated by the territory’s COVID-19 secretariat, that gives a summary of input received about the hubs — and payment for stays there — from Indigenous governments, community governments and business interests between Oct. 28 and Nov. 3, says a government news release.
Currently, travellers entering or returning to the N.W.T. must isolate at hubs in Yellowknife, Fort Smith, Hay River, or Inuvik.
More northern Saskatchewan First Nations enter lockdowns
Implementing a two-week lockdown “won’t cure the problem, but we’re trying to flatten the curve somewhat,” said Cumberland House Cree Nation Chief Rene Chaboyer.
On Monday, the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority (NITHA) reported 258 active COVID-19 cases in its communities, a significant jump from the 168 it reported on Nov. 16. NITHA is comprised of Prince Albert Grand Council, Meadow Lake Tribal Council, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN), and Lac La Ronge Indian Band.