The Safety and Health Divides: Concerns of Canadian's First Nations' Women and Children. Michael W. Young Ph. D. April 10, 2015

Transcription

1 The Safety and Health Divides: Concerns of Canadian's First Nations' Women and Children Michael W. Young Ph. D. April 10, 2015

2 Background on Canadian native Issues In Canada, there are three major Aboriginal groups: The First Nations officially 618 communities like the Cree, Mohawk, Birdtail Sioux, and many more The Metis descendants of both aboriginal and European ancestors, mainly French Catholic The Inuit who have had a home province in Nunavut since 1999 The Federal Government has an Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Department

3 Current Map (Denmark) Ar l Inuvik Dawson Bay Ba ffi Victoria ackenzie M Great Bear Lake Gjoa Haven Island Yukon Whitehorse Prince George Great Slave Lake Fort McMurray Victoria Kam Calgary loo ps Ocea n LEGEND Unit Labrador Regina Ne w Bay nd Nain Atlantic Ocean lan da Churchill Falls Manitoba Sandy Lake f ou Kuujjuaq Hudson Bay L Winnipeg Saskatoon e Rivièr ande La Gr James Bay Quebec nd La br s -Île pt e S ad or St John s Saint-Pierre et Miquelon (France) Prince Edward Island Charlottetown Winnipeg s o f Am e r ic a National capital Provincial or Territorial capital Other populated places t St ra it Ungava Churchill ed S t at e rc Sea CANADA Sas katc hew an Vancouver FraserR iver Edmonton A Nunavut Alberta Pa cifi c Isl an d Baker Yellowknife Lake er Riv British Columbia n Da vi s Iqaluit Northwest Territories Fort Nelson Ci rc (USA) Baffin Resolute Banks I ic Ci Beaufort Sea e rc l e ic ct Alaska Thunder Bay Lake Superior Ontario Québec Montréal Ottawa Toronto New Brunswick Nova Scotia Fr H ed a e r i lif a x cto n Atlantic Ocean

4 Health Care Controversies for the Aboriginal peoples First Peoples, Second Class Treatment A study released in Feb by the Wellesley Institute The study says well-documented disparities in aboriginal and non-aboriginal health are rooted in colonial government policies, such as segregation and Indian residential schools. The study suggests aboriginal people experience racism from health-care workers so frequently that they often strategize on how to deal with it before visiting emergency departments, or avoid care altogether.

5 Special Concerns for the Children The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services I have realized that in Canada these rights are upheld only if you are non-indigenous in Canada. Today, in our land of plenty, indigenous children suffer malnutrition and many are actually starving. Hundreds of indigenous communities lack clean water and adequate housing. Indigenous children receive less funding for education per child than their non-indigenous counterparts. Many indigenous women and girls don t live in safety. - column posted by the CBC.ca Dr. Anna Banerji is the Director of Global and Indigenous Health, for Continuing Professional Development, for the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto Photo the Aggark children who live 12 a two bedroom house

6 Stress on the Inuit & First Nations The last Inuit Health Survey found seven out of every 10 Inuit households in Nunavut are food insecure. That means they lack access to nutritious, affordable foods despite government subsidies and programs to confront hunger. This is a new medical textbook for these communities, to fill a gap in the health care curriculum, published just this year.

7 RCMP Report Released in May 2014 RCMP's National Operational Overview on Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women The report found that aboriginal women account for 4.3 per cent of the overall Canadian female population yet account for 16 per cent of female homicides and 11.3 per cent of the cases of missing women - CBC News 1,181 murders and missing person cases in three decades

8 Putting a Young Face to the Story Tina Fontaine, a Sagkeeng 15 year old runaway taken into custody by Children and Foster Services in Winnipeg, Manitoba Found murdered in the Red River days later Similar to Winnipeg cases of 16 year olds Felicia Osborne and Rinelle Harper (who survived an attack)

9 Charges of Indifference National leaders, including Prime Minister Steven Harper (from the Conservative Party), resisting calls for more investigations of these open murder and missing cases Tina must not disappear into the oblivion of statistics, Acting Chief Commissioner of Canadian Human Rights Commission Davis Langtry The murder of Tina Fontaine is a national tragedy, Niki Ashton, member of Parliament (from the New Democrats)

10 Thank You for your Time