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Indigenous Environmental Justice - Cree Tribe Health Concerns
2
Transcript
The Cree People: How are indigenous groups denied access to public healthcare?
Presented by Eleanor White
Cree Peoples
Cree Peoples
Intro
Intro
- First contacted in 1682 in Manitoba
- Over 200,000 members living in Canada
- Cree language (Cree-Montagnais) is spoken
- Closely related to Algonquin languages
- 117,000 speakers
- Recognized as a "First Nation" in Canada
- Are currently represented as the largest in Canada
Indigenous Healthcare
- Language Barriers
- Lack of "westernized" education
- Forced assimilation to westernized forms of medicine
- Absence of proper funding
Healthcare
Language Barriers
Language
- Many healthcare services are not accessible in the Cree language (Graham, How Should an Indian Speak?)
- Heathcare pamphlets are often only available in French or English
- Many doctors and healthcare providers only speak French or English
“The patients are not well informed and oftentimes that’s due to a language barrier,” said Linda Schecapio. “And then that’s when that lack of communication comes in, and not really provide appropriate services.”
(Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, 2017)
Education
Education within Cree Nation
- Cree Education Act
- Room for educational sovereignty
- Poses a double-bind educational dilemma
- Only 9.8% of Indigenous individuals in Canada have university degrees by age 25 (Statistics Canada, 2011)
- Not many doctors of Cree decent
Retrieved from Cando. Cando is a national Indigenous organization involved in community economic development.
Westernized Healthcare
Western Assimilation
- Strong focus on bodily well-being rather than spiritual and mental well-being
- Mainstream environmentalism
- Inaccessible healthcare services
- Often must travel off reservation (1+ hrs of travel)
- Women are disadvantaged the most
- Yukon has a First Nation Health Program which can help provide transport to and from communities
Cree Economic Status
Funding
- Over 80% of reserves in Canada have a median income below poverty line (Global News Canada, 2017)
- Average income of $20,000 CAD
- Lower than non-indigenous average of $33,000 CAD
- Lack of access to health insurance
- Little to no government funding assistance
- Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program provides medically-necessary coverage for eligible First Nations and Inuit people in Canada
- Proof of indigeneity is required
Cree Women
- Culturally Cree women are viewed as being at the center of the circle of life
“It is women who give birth both in the physical and in the spiritual sense to the social, political and cultural life of the community.” (Turpel, p.180)
- Most susceptible to the healthcare disadvantages in Cree communities (Wastelanding: Legacies of Uranium Mining in Navajo Country,Voyles)
Case Study
Natasia Mukash's Story
A Cree woman facing discrimination
- Transported to a hospital from her reserve during a miscarriage
- Faced indigenous racism
- Told to say in a hotel when she needed medical attention
- Nurses assumed she did not speak French or English and refused to communicate with her
- Hospital workers treated other patients who thought to be more economically stable first
Natasia Mukash
Forced Sterilization Among Indigenous Women Including Cree
- Harassed and coerced to sign consent forms during labor
- Denied access to see baby until their tubes were tied, cut, or cauterized
- 60+ women are proceeding with lawsuits
Future Research
Future Research
- Infiltrate cultural sensitivity training in healthcare establishments
- Continue to enact Community Based Participatory Research
- Listen to stories like Natasia Mukash's and encourage indigenous individuals to speak up about their mistreatment
- Further look into what the government is/isn't doing to ensure all indigenous people have access to healthcare
- Stress language as a priority
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