Windspeaker Health Watch - January 2015

Study shows number of incarcerated Aboriginal women growing

A newly released study by the federal Justice Department says the number of Aboriginal women locked in federal institutions grew 97 per cent between 2002 and 2012.  The number of Aboriginal men in that same time period increased by 34 per cent. “Aboriginal women are particularly overrepresented as offenders in female institutions and correctional services,” said the 2013 report, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. The report noted that Aboriginal women in the criminal justice system tended to be slightly younger than non-Aboriginal women, had less education, struggled to find work, and suffered from substance abuse. Two out of every three Aboriginal women were incarcerated for violent crimes, such as assault, uttering threats, robbery, sexual assault, criminal harassment, forcible confinement and murder. The study found Aboriginals represent 34 per cent of all female and 22 per cent of all male prisoners in federal institutions. The numbers were slightly higher for both Aboriginal men and women in provincial and territorial facilities.

The Aboriginal Health Community Steering Committee has been formed in response to what some view as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s actions to pull back support in the Aboriginal health community. Rod McCormick and Fred Wien, co-chairs of the AHCSC, say there is a “serious rift” between the CIHR and the Aboriginal health community. In a 52-page report to the Aboriginal health community and supporters, McCormick and Wien say CIHR has “ended its earlier strong commitment to build capacity in Aboriginal health research; it is eliminating the mechanisms that have previously provided a strong voice for Aboriginal health priorities and perspectives; and it is putting in place new systemic barriers which have the effect of discouraging proposals from the Aboriginal health community in the first instance and subsequently disadvantaging those who have the courage to proceed.” They say concerns raised with the CIHR president and its governing council have gone unanswered. However, the report falls short of saying CIHR is targeting Aboriginal programs. “We are not claiming that the Aboriginal health research field is deliberately being targeted Ö at least as far as we know. For the most part, the senior CIHR leadership is making decisions with system-wide application Ö (which) has quite unequal impacts especially when it comes to the Aboriginal health community.” The AHCSC is asking for support to ensure that the CIHR continues to engage the Aboriginal health community in the research process.

On Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, a new Indigenous HIV and AIDS Strategy was launched in Regina. The number of diagnosed cases among the Aboriginal population in Saskatchewan is among the highest in the world. The strategy is a four-year plan outlining the need for agencies working with people living with the disease to address underlining social issues affecting Aboriginals. “We’re looking at the teachings of the medicine wheel and looking at addressing HIV through a medicine wheel teaching. Looking at the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual and incorporating those ways into what already exists in this province,” said Margaret Poitras, CEO of All Nations Hope Network. Although the rate of diagnosed cases remains high among Saskatchewan’s Aboriginal population, the overall number of new cases is on the decline, but not at the same rate as the general population.

Dr. Evan Adams, a member of the Tla’amin First Nation, assumed the position of Chief Medical Officer for the First Nations Health Authority of Canada on Dec. 1. “It has been a lifelong dream to work directly with First Nations and Aboriginal peoples on our wellness and prosperity at this level. I’m grateful to the Office of the Provincial Health Officer for the past seven and a half years. I feel like I’m coming home,” said Adams. Other changes in FNHA include Richard Jock, who was moved from VP of Policy, Planning and Strategic Services to Chief Operating Officer. Jock is a member of the Mohawks of Akwesasne.

The Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres has launched a public awareness campaign as part of a provincial strategic plan to end violence against Aboriginal women and girls in Ontario. Kanawayhitowin - Honour Life, End Violence is a program developed as a result of the strategic plan that has been in place since 2007, which continually serves as a framework for action. Kanawayhitowin is a Cree word which means ‘taking care of each other’s spirit.’ Funding from the former Ontario Women’s Directorate of the Ministry of Children and Youth  has provided necessary supports for the OFIFC to work with Aboriginal communities to develop effective campaigns mandated to focus on the issues of violence against women, violence witnessed by Aboriginal children, and talking to Aboriginal men about how violence can end. Although the OFIFC is primarily an urban Aboriginal service provider, this program has engaged rural Aboriginal and First Nations communities.

More than 80 front-line diabetes workers from across the Ontario met at Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health for the Southern Ontario Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative annual conference. Participants agreed that diabetes is an epidemic among Indigenous Canadians. Rates are up to five times higher than for other Canadians. At the two-day SOADI conference, front-line workers discussed nutrition, foot care, diabetes prevention strategies and ways to stay active. When the conference finished, diabetes workers returned to their communities to share the strategies they developed in Ottawa.

Sudbury’s Shkagamik-Kwe Aboriginal Health Access Centre is one of seven primary care organizations chosen to deliver timely and appropriate low back pain services as part of a provincially-funded $2.3 million two-year pilot program. The Primary Care Low Back Pain Pilot program supports the integration of allied health providers such as chiropractors, physiotherapists, kinesiologists, occupational therapists and registered massage therapists. Since introducing Ontario’s Low Back Pain Strategy, by reducing the number of unnecessary diagnostic testing, the volume of spine imaging has decreased by 18.5 per cent, resulting in savings of approximately $15 million, while still maintaining access to quality care close to home, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care said in a press release.