Indigenous Health Education

Health Providers Against Poverty recognizes that Indigenous peoples in Canada face unacceptable and interconnected disparities in both income and health, and that these disparities are the result of colonization, residential schools, and ongoing systemic racism. We feel it is our responsibility as health care providers to educate ourselves, build relationships, and support Indigenous communities in their advocacy when invited.

PRINCIPLES OF ADVOCACY

Where HPAP efforts intersect with Indigenous health, we feel our focus should be on:
1) Relationships
2) Community-driven initiatives and solutions
3) Community resilience, not deficiency
4) Root causes of health inequities (be critical of jumping to a medical solution)

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS

Reports

Allan B, Smylie J (2015). First Peoples, Second Class Treatment: The Role of Racism in the Health and Well-Being of Indigenous People in Canada. Toronto, ON: Wellesley Institute.

Indigenous Health Working Group (2016). Health and Health Care Implications of Systemic Racism on Indigenous Peoples in Canada. College of Family Physicians of Canada and Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada.

Macdonald D, Wilson D (2016). Shameful Neglect: Indigenous Child Poverty in Canada. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Colonialism Timeline
Robina Thomas, Rona Sterling-Collins, and Todd Ormiston

History in Our Faces on Occupied Land: A Race Relations Timeline
Vancouver Status of Women Feminist Working Group, 2008

Processes of Decolonization
Pola Laenui