K3V3N
So, in the news, what I've been fighting with the Federal government for over two months is coming to pass just as I told them it would.
Any person in Canada by now is starting to hear about the spread of H1N1 on First Nations reservations in the north. I can confirm that in northern communities where the Inuit live, its rampant too.
I have been trying to get the feds to run the same campaigns about responsible flu behavior to run in native media too. But the feds refuse. Two people that I got to take up this with the feds in Public Safety have surprisingly been quickly transferred into new areas of Health Canada. Why? Coincidence? I am getting paranoid.
I have pointed out how vulnerable these communities are who still suffer from poor water conditions, many still on boil water alerts (some for decades) and sure enough its happened.
Now why has the mainstream press finally taking up this story? Well, one community in Manitoba, St. Teresa, the chief couldn't get the health supplies, especially sanitizers... from the feds so he drove hundreds of miles to the city to buy them himself. Now its come out that Health Canada held those sanitizers due to a fear of abuse of the alcohol content of these sanitizers.
Now this concern is real in some communities but to make this decision without the leadership of these communities is pure ignorant racism. Basically making a judgement that punishes a whole community, a whole race of people because of the attitude of some white folk who must believe if you are native, you are an alcoholic with no self control.
My own sister in-law is way up in a place called Baker Lake and she confirms that when she had to work at the Health Centre, all visitors and staff were required to wear masks, etc because of the rampant spread of the virus. But she also points out that in that clinic, which is of course understaffed, that they do have a problem trying to curb the abuse some Inuit are falling victim to. She personally saw an Inuit woman walking with a cup, go right up to a hand sanitizer dispenser and fill it up and take a drink.
But, I would say this is an issue that each facility needs to plan for to deal with and any boycott of any such products, whether it is sanitizers, glue, gas, cleaning solvents... that is up to a community leadership who have to deal with those problems directly, not some Ottawa bureaucrat sitting behind their desk who has no clue what these communities are like.
In the meantime, I call Public Safety and Health Canada and I'm saying, "Will you listen to me now or what?"
One other point - this is PRIME POW WOW SEASON and Aboriginal people are on the move all over North America as people travel from one pow wow to another. To me, there is a very real threat of spread in this environment and that can only be controlled if people know who to avoid spreading the virus. Because so many Aboriginal people are also dealing with other health issues like diabetes and heart disease, this flu is killing people with complications.
I don't know how this is going to play out but for some reason I just know in the end its not going to be good. Handled incorrectly in the news, I bet we'll see native people being discriminated against out of fear just the same as after 9/11 any Arab looking person suffered similar judgement based on race.
I just wanted to throw this in here, if nothing else but to create a dated post. Feel free to comment. Maybe I'm missing a point that I can give to various press and leadership that can make the points to the right people. So share away... and don't forget to wash your hands.
To say the least, I'm going to a big pow wow at Saddle Lake Cree First Nation Saturday and I'm not intending to be hugging and kissing my cousins and such. Pow wow is a huge social gathering and celebration where friends and family gather, like a giant family reunion or school reunion... and lots of people will be compelled to greet each other warmly. I hope no one is grossly offended but people need to think about what they are doing in these environments. Should be good. For those connected to me in facebook, expect to see pictures of my cousin dancing ladies traditional buckskin.
K3V3N 10:21:40 06/25/2009 (2)
anonymous handle 19:22:18 06/25/2009
K3V3N 11:28:00 06/26/2009
