Indigenous Homelessness in Canada: Systemic Issues and Colonial Data Practices
Introduction The displacement of Indigenous Peoples from the lands they have inhabited and alienation from the Traditional Knowledge they employed for generations is not a uniquely Canadian issue. However, given the overrepresentation of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit peoples experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity in Canada – the United Nations called it a “national emergency” […]
Decolonizing Mental Health and Wellbeing
Introduction Supporting mental health and well-being within the various levels of trauma that Indigenous Peoples experience in a colonial-based society is an ongoing challenge identified by Indigenous leaders and organizations. Combined with lingering residential school trauma, multigenerational substance use, widening health outcomes, socioeconomic gaps, and unprecedented levels of suicidal activity across First Nations in Canada […]
Budget Announcements 2024: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Introduction In April of 2024, both the Department of Finance of Canada and the provincial government of Manitoba released their budgets for the 2024-2025 fiscal years. These budgets include policies that affect First Nations, showing improvement in some areas while leaving other statutory obligations unmet. This blog post addresses both budgets and how key policies […]
Performance Measurements of Health for Indigenous Peoples in Canada
Introduction As defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) “performance measurement seeks to monitor, evaluate and communicate the extent to which various aspects of the health system meet their key objectives.” Crucially, these measurements provide input for policy makers to improve their understanding of how the health system works and provide detailed information to identify […]
Emergency Services in Northern & Remote First Nations in Manitoba
Introduction Many remote First Nations experience difficulties during emergency events, such as floods, house fires, or wildfires. Difficulties arise from a lack of infrastructure, resources, personnel, and chronic underfunding to sufficiently train, supply, and prepare remote or isolated First Nations in the event of an emergency. First Nations are more vulnerable to emergency events than […]
The Making of Remote First Nations
Introduction First Nations in Manitoba have a strong, historic connection to the land. However, Nations must also be understood as individually unique and diverse. Winnipeg, Manitoba, is home to the largest urban Indigenous population in Canada; yet some of the most isolated First Nations reserves in the country can be found in the province’s north. […]
Indigenous Off-Reserve Homelessness and Housing First
Introduction Indigenous populations living off-reserve in Canada are disproportionately unhoused or underhoused relative to the overall population. A complex array of factors, including ongoing colonialism, Indian Residential Schools, racism and discrimination, and federal underfunding of housing initiatives for Indigenous populations in urban centres compounds and exacerbates this issue. In recent years, Canada has committed to […]
Reconciliation in Canada and Australia
Introduction Canada and Australia, although geographically disparate and located in different hemispheres, have parallel, troubling legacies of institutionalized settler colonial violence and the systemic marginalization of Indigenous Peoples. Both enacted similar eras of stolen children, little to no inclusion in policy development and political decision-making, forced relocations, and the widespread destruction of cultures and languages. […]
The Social Determinants and Challenges to Inuit Health
Introduction The Inuit, indigenous to the Arctic regions of what is now called Canada, Greenland, the United States, and Russia, face a unique set of hurdles that significantly impact health and well-being. For Inuit in Canada, this is a multifaceted issue that intertwines physical, social, cultural, and historical factors which cumulate to a higher incidence […]
The White Paper of 1969
Introduction The White Paper of 1969 was a proposed policy direction presented by the government of Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau and then Minister of Indian Affairs, Jean Chrétien. The White Paper proposed abolishing the Indian Act and ending the special legal relationship between Indigenous Peoples and Canada. The White Paper was met with forceful […]