Submission to The Social Lens: A Social Work Action Blog by Community of Practice 2 as part of SOWK 550
An increasingly relevant and concerning issue that Indigenous communities across the world face is the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While there have been different responses regionally, Indigenous people in North America have demonstrated resilience by taking their health into their own hands and are working to protect their communities in various ways. We wanted to take the opportunity to highlight communities’ continued resilience against adverse odds in this difficult time.
Initial Struggles
During pandemics, Indigenous Peoples suffer higher infection rates and more severe symptoms and death than the general population because of the powerful forces of the social and cultural determinants of health and lack of political power (Power et al, 2020, p. 2737). More specifically, “[i]n Canada, First Nations people were three times more likely to be hospitalised, and six and a half times more likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit” (Power et al, 2020, p. 2737).
Indigenous communities have taken steps to ensure safety for their people and the response has been a show of strength, resilience, “Indigenous nationhood and a continued assertion of sovereignty” (Hillier et al., 2020, p. 1). They have taken measures such as: “creating their own public health orders, restricting travel through their territory, adapting their ceremonies, and intensifying public health campaigns” (Hillier et al., 2020, p. 1). In the early days of the pandemic, the funds allocated to Indigenous communities made up just 1% of the federal government’s COVID-19 funding, even though Indigenous people make up 5% of the population. Some experts have been critical of the response, indicating that this is a representation of the inequality Indigenous peoples face (Levesque, A., & Thériault, S., 2020).
Examples of Indigenous Resilience in the Pandemic
Many Indigenous nations demonstrated strong leadership early in the pandemic. Many nations quickly implemented travel bans for non-residents and mandatory quarantine periods for residents returning to their traditional territories (Wells, 2020). The Chiefs of the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation have stated that they will continue to ban tourism until a vaccine or treatment is available for COVID-19, despite the negative economic impact on their communities (Wells, 2020). Indigenous Nations across Canada have implemented various strategies including roadblocks, deputized peace officers and directly asking tourists to leave (Wells, 2020).
Additionally, Indigenous communities developed supports for their members such as delivering groceries and medications in order to support members and particularly elders to stay at home and avoid exposures (Banning, 2020). These efforts have been effective in reducing the impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous communities despite structural inequities that are tied to worsening health outcomes. Indigenous leaders have drawn on their resources and knowledge from Elders and knowledge keepers in navigating previous outbreaks of disease, including H1N1, tuberculosis, Spanish flu and smallpox, to self-determine how to best protect their members on reserve (Richardson, & Crawford, 2020).
Another example of Indigenous resilience during the pandemic is the way that the Navajo Nation engaged in the US election. At one point in May 2020, the Navajo Nation had the highest per capita COVID-19 infection rate in all of the United States (Smith, 2020). Before the election, the Navajo Nation made attempts to ensure their members could vote and they sued the state of Arizona in hopes that mail-in ballots postmarked by election day would be accepted instead of only those that arrived on election day. This suit ultimately failed in court but still community organizing groups mobilized resources to ensure that the nation’s membership could vote. The effort may have contributed to a 116% increase in voter turnout in the Apache county which overlaps the Navajo Nation (Smith, 2020).
Other efforts to improve Indigenous communities’ experiences of the pandemic include the translation of resources such as infographics to increase dissemination of COVID-19 updates. These were developed in partnership with First Nations Health Authority and Indigenous Services Canada. The BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres compiled a list of health, financial, virtual mental wellness and other services for all Indigenous peoples in BC to access. Additionally, a wide range of community actions were developed to address food insecurity. For example, the First Nations Health Authority and Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society offered food hampers, emergency and long-term food planning ideas. As of September 2020, after advocacy from the Indigenous community about their need for resources, the federal government partnered with Indigenous peoples to protect against the COVID pandemic by contracting over $68.5 million to various Indigenous businesses for the production of masks (News Wire, 2020).
Results
According to a July 7, 2020 news release from Indigenous Services Canada, First Nations on reserve have had a COVID-19 case rate four times lower than that of the general Canadian population, with three times fewer fatalities and a 30% higher recovery rate (ISC, 2020). More recently, CBC News reports that as of November 9, 2020, First Nations people on reserve are two times less likely than the average Canadian to contract COVID and five times less likely to die from it (CBC, 2020).
Allyship and Moving Forward
The implications of how COVID-19 is affecting Indigenous health is relevant to all levels of social work. In light of the work and collaboration of Nations that is already being done, social work allyship needs to include actively supporting the requests and actions of each Nation. Social work allyship should include practicing cultural humility by informing health officials of what is needed to support Indigenous resistance already in place as each Nation already knows how they can best utilise their resources and connect to their strengths.
At a deeper level than cultural competence, “cultural humility offers social workers an alternative approach that focuses on knowledge of self in relation to others, acknowledges the dynamic nature of culture, and challenges barriers” (Fisher-Borne 19 et al., 2014, p. 172).
“Decolonization brings about the repatriation of Indigenous land and life; it is not a metaphor for other things we want to do to improve our societies and schools. The easy adoption of decolonizing discourse by educational advocacy and scholarship, evidenced by the increasing number of calls to ‘decolonize our schools,’ or use ‘decolonizing methods,’ or, ‘decolonize student thinking,’ turns decolonization into a metaphor” (Tuck and Yang, 2012, p. 1). As a result, social workers and others who want to support decolonization during the pandemic can support these Indigenous resistance and resurgence initiatives.
- https://keepsafecampaign.com/
- Settler Saturday links – twitter
- https://looselipsmag.com/features/10-ways-to-be-an-ally-to-indigenous-people/
- https://www.indigenousaction.org/rethinking-the-apocalypse-an-indigenous-anti-futurist-manifesto/
- https://libguides.asu.edu/c.php?g=1019805&p=7387302 – COVID-19 Resources for Indigenous Peoples
- https://www.womenscollegehospital.ca/research,-education-and-innovation/indigenous-wellbeing-in-the-times-of-covid-19
- Mutual Aid – https://kinlanimutualaid.org/
- Buy Indigenous http://www.beyondbuckskin.com/p/buy-native.html
- https://dtesresponse.ca/
- https://unistoten.camp/support-us/donate/
This blog has been written on the unceded, ancestral and occupied territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. We are forever grateful for the privilege we have as uninvited guests that are able to live, learn, and write here.
The Social Lens: A Social Work Action Blog - The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the original author(s) and do not express the views of the UBC School of Social Work and/or the other contributors to the blog. The blog aims to uphold the School's values and mission.
