First Nations’ Survivance and Sovereignty in Canada during a Time of COVID-19

First Nations people in Canada have demonstrated and continue to demonstrate persistent and resilient cultural, linguistic, and traditional endurance: survivance. The devastation resulting from centuries of health pandemics such as smallpox, influenza, cholera, tuberculosis, measles, and scarlet fever reinforce the ongoing resilience of First Nations people, cultures, and traditions in Canada. Despite the history of pandemic-related trauma and a myriad of social, political, environmental, and health challenges, as well as the added burden that COVID-19 is placing on the healthcare system in Canada, First Nations’ organizations and leadership are enacting their inherent rights to sovereignty and governance. While First Nations are bracing for the expected negative impacts of COVID-19, they are doing so in ways that respect and honor their histories, cultures, languages, and traditions. First Nations are acting to protect some of the most vulnerable people in their communities including elders, knowledge keepers, and storytellers who carry with them irreplaceable traditional and cultural knowledges.

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Voice of a Leader: If you Truly Believe Children are our Future - the Future is Now!

First Peoples Child & Family Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Honouring the Voices, Perspectives, and Knowledges of First Peoples ◽

10.7202/1069057ar ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 10-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Wayne Christian

Keyword(s):

First Nations ◽

Government Policy ◽

Cultural Practices ◽

State Policies ◽

Way Of Life ◽

Indian Children ◽

Nations People ◽

History Of ◽

The Government ◽

First Nations People

This paper is based on a speech by Chief Wayne Christian the Co-keynote speaker for the “Gathering and Sharing Wisdom Conference” held in Victoria BC October 6th & th, 2010. He shares the history of his community, their children and how state policies, legislation and laws have affected a way of life for his people. He illustrates through narrative the importance of re-learning our cultural practices. Chief Christian begins his account by quoting a historical approach remembered by many Indigenous people in which the government policy of the day sought to “Kill the Indian in the Child.” Chief Christian noted that First Nations people have resisted this policy, but importantly, he discussed how balance can be restored today for Indian children.

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Indigenous Environmental Justice and Sustainability: What Is Environmental Assimilation?

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13158382 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 8382

Author(s):

Stephen R. J. Tsuji

Keyword(s):

First Nations ◽

Green Energy ◽

Northern Ontario ◽

Child Welfare Agencies ◽

Nations People ◽

Indigenous Children ◽

The Sixties ◽

History Of ◽

First Nations People ◽

Welfare Agencies

Canada has a long history of assimilative efforts with respect to Indigenous peoples. Legal assimilation efforts occurred on two fronts: the voluntary and involuntary enfranchisement of First Nations people, and the dissolution of First Nations reserve lands. Cultural assimilation occurred through the residential school system, and the removal of Indigenous children from their homes by Canadian child welfare agencies in the “sixties scoop”. Another form of assimilation is through environmental assimilation. I define environmental assimilation as changes to the environment through development, to the extent whereby the environment can no longer support Indigenous cultural activities. Herein, I examine environmental assimilation in northern Ontario, Canada. The “taken-up” clause in Treaty No. 9, the “Exemption Orders” in the Far North Act, the “Except” stipulation in the Mining Amendment Act, and the unilateral streamlining of projects in the Green Energy Act and the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act—these pieces of legislation pose threats to the environment and serve to facilitate the reality of contemporary environmental assimilation of First Nations.

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Quality of Care for First Nations People with Diabetes Living in Rural vs. Urban Locations in Alberta

Canadian Journal of Diabetes ◽

10.1016/j.jcjd.2014.07.148 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 38 (5) ◽

pp. S54

Author(s):

Nathalie Saad

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Care ◽

First Nations ◽

Nations People ◽

First Nations People

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Cultural safety for First Nations people in aged care

Contemporary Nurse ◽

10.1080/10376178.2021.1962378 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Linda Michelle Deravin ◽

Judith Anderson ◽

Nicole Mahara

Keyword(s):

First Nations ◽

Aged Care ◽

Cultural Safety ◽

Nations People ◽

First Nations People

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Estimating risks from exposure to methylmercury: Application to first nations people in Canada

Water Air & Soil Pollution ◽

10.1007/bf02409649 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 97 (1-2) ◽

pp. 107-118 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sara Hoover ◽

Ryan Hill ◽

Tom Watson

Keyword(s):

First Nations ◽

Nations People ◽

First Nations People

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The Terms of Our Surrender: Colonialism, Dispossession and the Resistance of the Innu

10.14296/202110.9781912250486 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Elizabeth Cassell

Keyword(s):

First Nations ◽

Land Tenure ◽

Legal Framework ◽

Land Ownership ◽

Fiduciary Duty ◽

Eastern Canada ◽

Nations People ◽

Natural Land ◽

First Nations People ◽

Indigenous Land

Based on extensive fieldwork and oral history, The Terms of Our Surrender is a powerful critical appraisal of unceded indigenous land ownership in eastern Canada. Set against an ethnographic, historical and legal framework, the book traces the myriad ways the Canadian state has successfully evaded the 1763 Royal Proclamation that guaranteed First Nations people a right to their land and way of life. Focusing on the Innu of Quebec and Labrador, whose land has been taken for resource extraction and development, the book strips back the fiduciary duty to its origins, challenging the inroads which have been made on the nature and extent of indigenous land tenure—arguing for preservation of land ownership and positioning First Nations people as natural land defenders amidst a devastating climate crisis. It offers a voice to the Innu people, detailing the spirituality practices, culture and values that make it impossible for them to willingly cede their land. The text is intended to bridge the gap in knowledge between legal practitioners and those working at the intersections of human rights, social work and public policy. The book offers a potent template for how we can use the law to fight back against the indignities suffered by all indigenous peoples.

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