Module 9, Indigenous Peoples and Health

Question 1

Indigenous Peoples

Answer 1

a term used to describe First Peoples from anywhere in the world. The use of Peoples plural is intentional to indicate while there are some commonalities in experiences and across cultures, there are many diverse ‘Peoples’
- this term is increasingly used at UBC after much consultation with local Indigenous communities
- the terms the people most people prefer and it is plural
- first peoples from anywhere in the world

Question 2

Aboriginal or First Peoples

Answer 2

refers to all original peoples in what is currently known as ‘North America’ and their descendants
- the term was defined in the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982
- is used as an encompassing term that includes First Nations, Métis and Inuit - more of a broad term
- was popular back in the day

Question 3

First Nations

Answer 3

term came into usage in the 1970s and replaced the term ‘Indian’
- there are 600+ recognized ‘nations’ including 11 in the ‘metro Vancouver region’ - the plurality of the nations where there are 600 recognized nations
- the UBC campus is on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam People (they do not use First Nations just by their name but there are one of the 600 nations - shows that people have choice and agency)

Question 4

Inuit

Answer 4

refers to specific groups of Indigenous Peoples who live in the north (replaced the term ‘Eskimo’)

Question 5

Métis

Answer 5

refers to people of Indigenous and mixed European ancestry dating back to particular place/time – Métis Nation(s) - manitoba, saskatcwen and ontario

Question 6

Indian

Answer 6

refers to the legal identity of a First Nations person who is registered under the Indian Act
- an outdated and offensive term that references colonialism
- still used in some ‘official’ ways (policies, acts, names of organizations) - lives on in policies, embedded within our laws and relationships betweens laws and Indigineous people
- used by ’insiders’ – within communities or in reference to self
- terms that are not used or used with extreme cautions

Question 7

Historical Population

Answer 7

• Indigenous Peoples have inhabited this land ‘since time began’ (archeological and anthropological evidence dates back 12,000 years)
• at point of contact with Europeans, it is estimated there were 100 million Indigenous Peoples in North and South America
• between 75 and 95% were wiped out by European diseases - diseases that were brought over and they had no immunity over and were not familiar with

Question 8

Historical Context (1500s and 1736 Royal Proclamation)

Answer 8

1500s – Europeans began to colonize what would come to be called North America starting with eastern shores; moved across the continent over the next 200 years

1736 Royal Proclamation – Aboriginal nations recognized by British crown as “autonomous political entities with a right to have their own land and govern their own affairs.”
- acknowledges the sovereignty and the autonomy of Indigenous people and their right to the land however that is not to suggest there was a peaceful equal relationship but they acknowledged them as land owners who were there before

Question 9

Colonialism

Answer 9

a process by which one nation imposes itself economically, politically and socially over another

Question 10

Historical Context (1800s)

Answer 10

1800s - growing influx of settler immigrants (as well as growing population/births) -> rise in racism, loss of power among Indigenous Peoples - rapidly growing rate of people arriving and settling in Canada
European settlers and policies became increasing concerned with cultural assimilation and domination

Question 11

Culture Assimilation

Answer 11

the assumption that Aboriginal peoples and immigrants will give up their culture and become indistinguishable from the dominant Canadian majority
- one culture asserting their dominance over another culture with the intent of making their culture the dominant culture, the prevailing culture, of making Indigineous people culture no longer exist but also make them adopt the Canadian identity

Question 12

1867 British North America Act

Answer 12

• act passed by British Parliament that created the Canadian Confederation and set out its constitution
• rather than being full partners in Confederation, Aboriginal Peoples were classified as ‘wards of the state
• federal government ‘responsible for Indians and lands reserved for Indians’ - becomes their guardians and of their lands (condition for the reserves of the reservation lands)
• sets out the terms for over governing systems - divisions between provincial, territorial and federal governments but there is a lot more in the act
• Indigenous people were not in these conversations, there are not characterizied as people with their own right to assert their culture or to have a particular role in the governance of this new country but rather as wards of the state (refers to individuals are seen as incapable of governing their own affairs and people who require care or protection from the government)
• not equal relationships between government and Indigenous

Question 13

Confederation - Legacy of Exclusion

Answer 13

when the fathers of Confederation came together in 1864 in Charlottetown, and then again a year later in Quebec, to lay the foundation for Canada, Indigenous people were not present. They were left out, despite the early treaty making. This exclusion has had far-reaching implications for Canada. The work of reconciliation today is, in many ways, at its core about rectifying this exclusion. After Confederation, crown policy became one of assimilation, and not partnership
- the North American Act is one the key moments in our history where they could have been a different relationship considered and instead Indigenous people were not apart of the conservation and the terms that were set had long lasting implications and for how healthcare in provided today

Question 14

The great aim of our legislation has been to do away with the tribal system and assimilate the Indian people in all respects with the other inhabitants of the Dominion as speedily as they are fit to change

Answer 14

• this was deliberate and intentional - the political leaders did not try to hide that they were enacting policies to assimilate Indigenous people as it was publicly declared
• our project is to assimilate their population and make them adopt a Canadian culture

Question 15

Indian Act (first passed in 1876)

Answer 15

the Act has been amended many times but still exists today. In the past it has included prohibitions on (denied):
- voting
- sitting on juries - if they went to court they could receive jury by peers
- being conscripted during war
- holding religious or spiritual ceremonies
- gathering in groups of 3+ - we do not want you to organize, share your culture or practice any cultural practices
- possessing alcohol
- owning property

my notes:
- has been amended many times - responsibilities for the federal government towards Indigenous people
- how damaging it is to one’s ability to practice your culture or to pass on any sort of culture and traditions as the intent was to disrupt passing on of culture

Question 16

Four key sections of the Indian Act

Answer 16

1. definition of who is/is not ‘Indian.’ - outlines who does the federal government have a responsbility towards (within a couple of generations there would not be any Indians - stripping them of their status and specifically to women who did not marry men of their culture so their children did have Indian status - cutting Indians out)
2. imposed system of governance - on reservations, how we engage with different nations
3. Creation of reserve system and management of reserve lands - that there always live on plots of lands that were so small portions of their lands and distant from their lands and disconnected from their lands so that they could disconnect from their lands
4. Establishment of residential schools (existed prior to act but now formalized)

Question 17

Residential Schools were established to…

Answer 17

• remove and isolate children from influences of their homes, families, traditions and cultures.
• prepare Indigenous children for life in white society (aggressive assimilation à solve the ‘Indian problem’)

Question 18

About the Residential Schools

Answer 18

• schools were funded by federal government and largely run by various religious organizations (mostly by Catholic church) - due to the Indian act as it was federal responsibility to provide for and educate Indigenous People’s however the federal government does not run schools
• between 1884 and 1950s, Indigenous parents were legally required to send their children - if they tried to resist you could be arrested
• over 150,000 children were forcibly removed from their families (ages 6 to 15) - taken when parents were not around

Question 19

About the Residential Schools (contact)

Answer 19

• children lived at the schools for 10-12 months of the year (travel distances and/or costs prevented them from going home) - schools were not located close to the communities so if there was opportunities to return there was no means to do so as the distance was far to great with no provision for the cost of how the children would actually travel - the parents did not know exaclty where the children were located
• siblings were often separated (often as a strategy to minimize family’s ability to retain and passed along cultural heritage)
• children forbidden to speak own language or practice their traditions and beliefs - were punished for speaking their own language and engaging in traditions

Question 20

About the Residential Schools (issues)

Answer 20

• overcrowding, poor sanitation, lack of medical care, tuberculosis, small pox, insufficient food
• estimated 6,000 children died in the schools but many others discharged ill and died soon after → real number not known → ~1,800 confirmed or suspected graves found in last two years
• common to discharge a child that was very ill or on the verge of dying where they would return home just in time to die after being released from the school

Question 21

About the Residential Schools (problems arising)

Answer 21

• residential schools have been called a form of ‘cultural genocide’ and ”the single most harmful, disgraceful and racist act in our history.”
• extended families destroyed
• loss of language and culture - not entirely

Question 22

In addition to the individual health impacts, there are long term and intergenerational impacts

Answer 22

• relationships that were broken when children were removed from their families
  0 trying to raise own children after residential schools while still dealing with their own trauma and own health

Question 23

Provision of health care services

Answer 23

• indigenous Peoples are included in the calculation of ‘transfers’ from federal to provincial government
• funding is also provided through Indigenous Services Canada to First Nations and Inuit
• subject to discretionary increases/decreases by government - there is no formula set out so the payment can change
• provinces and territories differ in ‘how’ they provide healthcare to Indigenous Peoples - creates a lot of gaps in the system and inconsistencies

Question 24

First Nations Health Authority

Answer 24

• first and only provincial First Nations health authority in Canada
• 2013 - took over health care and health governance in BC (based on where you located but this was not representing the people as it was separating the people based on location so instead have one responsible for all of them to talk about what the community needs)
• partnerships and collaborations with over 200 First Nations communities - makes sure that when the health authorities get together, there is one specific person that is looking out for their needs
• to ensure there was a seat at the table that could represent the interests of Indigenous peoples living in British Columbia when it comes to matters of health
• health authorities have a regional jurisdiction that are responsible based on their geographic border which will have a governance structure that each have their own funding, hospitals, clinics and different health services they provide to a geographic location
• Indigenous people can access other health cares but there is another layer of governance for them between different communities - has the lens of how it is going to impact Indigenous peoples

Question 25

Holism

Answer 25

an approach to health that considers all aspects of an individual – physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and lifestyle – as interrelated and must be treated as such
- holistic approach are the opposite of the mind body dualism
- health is not only physical but also being well in healthy community, land that is healthy, and more listed above
- are not working from Western medical system