New building for Wabano Centre will be 'jewel' on Montreal Road

A striking new building for the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health promises to invigorate Montreal Road, says John Baird, federal minister of transport and infrastructure.
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Canada's youth experience job struggles, lower quality of life: report

Canada's young people are struggling to finish school, earn decent wages and gain independence, and are among a group of Canadians lagging behind as the rest of the population sees progress, says a new report on the quality of life of Canadians.
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Ottawa announces $3.2M for First Nations housing

Miramichi Conservative MP Tilly O'Neill Gordon was in Elsipogtog First Nation yesterday to announce funding for housing on New Brunswick reserves.
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Government of Canada Helps People With Mental Health Disabilities in Calgary Gain Employment Skills and Avoid Homelessness

People with disabilities will get help preparing for jobs as a result of the Government of Canada's support to Potential Place Society.
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[N.S] First Nations housing gets $3.8m boost

The federal government announced funding Sunday for housing in the province’s First Nations communities.
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Métis join program to fix northern housing

In a first for Western Canada, the Manitoba government has partnered with the Manitoba Métis Federation to retrofit 645 public housing units in rural, northern and remote communities.
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Scientists turn to Inuit for climate clues

The Inuit people who live in and around the Arctic are among the worst victims of global warming, and scientists are now turning to their experience and indigenous knowledge to understand the staggering effects of climate change.
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CFIA issues warning over Heinz Mixed Cereal for babies

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Heinz Canada are warning the public that Heinz Mixed Cereal for babies should not be consumed.
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First Nations can't go back to 'business as usual' after flu outbreak: AFN chief

For a few weeks this spring, the world's attention was focused on a small cluster of First Nation reserves in northern Manitoba.
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Youth worker beat drug habit, now torchbearer

Three years ago Dion Metcalfe was a hardcore drug addict, spending up to $100 a day to feed a crack habit that had destroyed his life.
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A history of trauma

Layering trauma on top of trauma. That’s what it’s like for Canada’s aboriginal people who are already “traumatized” by a history of discrimination and then are diagnosed with HIV, says a Métis man living with HIV.
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Diabetes cost could hit $17 billion a year by 2020

The rising rates of diabetes in Canada could cost the economy as much as $17 billion by the year 2020, according to a new report that calls on the federal government to do more to ease the economic burden
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Canadian aboriginal delegation visits Taiwan

A delegation of Canadian aborigines is visiting Taiwan to promote exchanges and understanding of the indigenous cultures of Taiwan and Canada, the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT) said Friday.
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No legal protection over drinking water on reserves

The safety of drinking water is something most Canadians take for granted, but for those living on First Nations reserves there are no laws and regulations to ensure their water is safe.
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First Nations children promoted within art exhibit

November 23 marked the opening of freelance photographer Liam Sharp's exhibit, Caring Across Boundaries, at First Canadian Place in Toronto.
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HIV progress seen bypassing Canadian natives

The drop in HIV infections internationally isn't reflected in Canada's aboriginal community, says an expert who is worried about the possibility of federal funding cuts.
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AIDS Day a chance to educate and show support

Athabasca residents are joining with people around the world and wearing red today
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2nd H1N1 wave sidesteps First Nations

The stories, the illnesses and the deaths — of a pregnant woman and an unborn child — are still fresh in the minds of a northern Manitoba First Nation community hit hard by the spring H1N1 flu pandemic, even though the virus has been slow to make its mark this fall.
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Morning Star’s rise: Native leader fêted by royalty

Before he reached his teens, William Commanda embodied every terrible Indian stereotype: illiterate, impoverished, angry and drunk.
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Loss of Aboriginal culture root of violence against women

Ending violence against Aboriginal women has to come from outside society and from within the community, says the Ontario Native Women‘s Association.
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NARMP Role Model Inez wins four Aboriginal People's Choice Music Awards

At the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards (APCMAs) in Winnipeg earlier this month, B.C.-based singer-songwriter Inez Jasper worked the stage with talent and poise. Clad in black and violet leather and backed by an impressively choreographed dance routine, she belted out her slinky dance-pop hit Breathe in front of an audience of about 4,000 people.
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Aboriginal-Rights Champion Cindy Blackstock Awarded Atkinson Fellowship

The three-year Fellowship will provide $100,000 annually for Ms. Blackstock's advocacy on behalf of First Nations children and communities.
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N.B. has let children suffer: youth advocate

New Brunswick has let many of its young people, particularly in First Nations communities, suffer in "shocking" conditions, the province's child and youth advocate says.
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A bridge to health care

Two dozen students from all around the province were the first to gain admission to SFU Surrey’s Aboriginal Pre-Health Program this fall.
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Residential school forum

Marie Wilson was attending university before she heard anything about Canada's troubled history of residential schools.
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Ex-PM funds First Nations students

Former prime minister Paul Martin is betting $70,000 that 22 aboriginal students at Scott Collegiate can beat the odds, graduate from high school and succeed in business.
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Fibre-optic cable connects remote reserves: Experts help communities with flu-fighting plans

Health directors on isolated reserves in northern Alberta credit kilometres of new fibre-optic cables for helping them prepare to fight the flu pandemic.
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First Nations children at risk: Madahbee

Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee along with other Chiefs of First Nations in Ontario are meeting with the Ministry of Children and Youth Services Minister Laurel Broten to discuss the funding cuts being imposed on a number of native mandated child protection agencies.
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HIV could devastate Sask. First Nations: Doctor

Drawing a startling comparison between Canadian native reserves and areas of sub-Saharan Africa, a Saskatchewan medical health officer is warning that HIV could kill up to 30 per cent of the province's aboriginal population over the next five to 10 years.
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Aboriginals want culture reflected in any renaming of Northwest Passage

Aaju Peter never imagined her chin tattoo would become the subject of a parliamentary debate about bolstering Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic.
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First Nations conference exposes 'hidden epidemic' of HIV

There are ancient songs First Nations women used to sing in the forest to heal their injured men, songs of anguish and of strength, set to the heartbeat rhythm of a healing drum.
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First Nations flu vaccinations half done

More than half the people living on First Nations reserves in Alberta have received a flu shot, protecting a group labelled high risk after the first wave of the H1N1 pandemic in April.
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Young aboriginal smokers target of new program

A group of students from different faculties at the University of Alberta has received $137,000 over two years from Health Canada for a smoking prevention program aimed at aboriginal youth.
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Native Canadians no longer 'Dime Store Indians'

They are Squamish, Lil'Wat, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh, Canada's native people whose embrace of the 2010 Winter Olympics is key to eradicating the problems faced by the First Nations.
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Medical establishment doesn't understand aboriginal diabetes dilemma: Doctor

After a three-hour, 1,100-kilometre morning commute, Dr. Karen Yeates climbs out of a water taxi at the south end of James Bay.
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NAHO Releases Final Agenda for 2009 National Conference

The National Aboriginal Health Organization (NAHO) released the final agenda for its upcoming national conference entitled Our People, Our Health in Ottawa Nov. 24-26, 2009.
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Assembly of First Nations and Health Canada to Co-Host a Virtual Summit on H1N1 Preparedness November 10th, 2009

On November 10, 2009 at 12:00 noon EST Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq and National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Shawn Atleo will co-host a Virtual Summit on H1N1 preparedness for First Nations communities.
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Aboriginal transplant rates show 'two tiers' to health-care system: Experts

Peter Nakogee knows the chances are not good for aboriginals seeking transplants in Canada, but the gregarious father of four has reason to celebrate.
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Sault woman driven to help others realize their potential

If it can be done, Daphne Belleau can do it. Originally from Sault Ste. Marie and a member of Garden River first nations, this Sault College student makes things happen.
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Canada ranked 25th in world infant mortality

Fewer Canadian infants die before their first birthday compared with the Americans, but Canada ranked behind most European countries on the health-care indicator in a new report.
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Canada to Investigate Disappearing Pacific Salmon

Canada will launch an investigation into why far fewer sockeye salmon than scientists had predicted returned to the Fraser River on the Pacific Coast this summer.
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Millions of Canadians live in inadequate housing: report

An estimated 1.5 million needy households in Canada could have access to suitable, affordable housing for the cost of slightly more than $1 a day for every household in the country, a new report says.
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Loss of global languages threatens culture, history: Language expert

When the last native speaker of an endangered language dies, does that language die with them?
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Majority of those on hard-hit Manitoba reserves getting immunized against H1N1

Residents of northern Manitoba reserves who watched loved ones airlifted to hospital with swine flu in the spring aren't taking any chances as the second wave hits.
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Native reserves polluted due to gaps in rules: AG

Ottawa has failed to provide proper environmental protection for First Nations reserves and adequate warning for toxic substances in consumer products.
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First Nations reserves are toxic: Fraser

Canada’s First Nations reserves are filthy, environmentally toxic places and the federal government has done little to stop it, suggests Auditor General Sheila Fraser.
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Canadians better-informed, healthier than 10 years ago: report

Canadians are living longer, taking more drugs and are more informed about the country's health-care system than a decade ago, according to a new report.
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Métis federation founder 'a great rock'

THE flag of the Manitoba Métis Federation will fly at half mast this week in honour of Edward Head, the founder and former president of the federation.
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Western Diet Fuels Spike In Blood Pressure Of Canada's Inuit

A move from a traditional diet to the sodium-laden Western diet is fuelling a spike in the blood pressure of the Inuit in Canada's North, Dr. Marie-Ludivine Chateau-Degat told the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.
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New Brunswick Aboriginal Woman will guard the Olympic Flame

A young aboriginal woman from northwestern New Brunswick is going to Greece next week to get the Olympic flame.
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48 confirmed cases of H1N1 virus in southeast Saskatchewan

The H1N1 virus in southeast Saskatchewan’s Sun Country Health Region is hitting hard at six area schools and is affecting a number of teenagers in 13 communities.
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Kugluktuk’s alcohol controls make for lower crime rate

Nearly two years to the day have passed since people in Kugluktuk voted in favour of an alcohol education committee, just about everyone says the most westerly community in Nunavut is doing much better than before.
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Country to begin largest mass inoculation in history, some MPs torn about getting vaccine

The federal government approved the H1N1 swine flu vaccine last week and shipped more than two million doses across the country for what will be the largest mass inoculation in Canadian history, but some MPs are still torn on whether to get the vaccine.
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Albertans Urged To Limit Consumption Of Some Species Of Fish

Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health has issued a public health advisory that recommends people avoid or limit their consumption of some species of fish caught from specific bodies of water in Alberta.
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Swine flu immunization underway

The H1N1 influenza vaccine is now available across most of Canada to health-care workers and people considered at a higher risk for complications from the respiratory illness.
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Health habits vary by region: Ailments also were worse in some areas of the country, especially First Nations communities

Quebecers eat more fruits and veggies. Albertans believe they're the healthiest. British Columbians exercise the most and are the most likely to ask you to stop smoking in their house.
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New diabetes guidelines set for health providers

The International Diabetes Federation has released three sets of guidelines for health providers aimed at improving patient care and stemming the growing worldwide incidence of the disease.The clinical guidelines dealing with pregnancy, oral health and patient monitoring of blood-sugar levels were announced Thursday at the World Diabetes Congress in Montreal.Read more>>

(MB) First Nations grapple with H1N1 shot plan

Aboriginal people are a priority group to be vaccinated against swine flu, but that could be a challenge in northern Manitoba where reserves are spread far and wide.
"There's about 64,000 people in northern Manitoba First Nations alone … so which areas are we going to be hitting? That's one of the things that we need to clarify," said David Harper, Grand Chief of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, an organization representing most First Nations communities in northern Manitoba.
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Costly shots urged to protect Inuit infants from RSV

All Inuit babies should routinely get a costly series of injections to protect them against the respiratory syncytial virus, the Canadian Pediatric Association says in a new set of recommendations.
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Unique diabetes program has big impact on B.C. First Nation

In a report to be released Monday to the World Diabetes Congress in Montreal, they detail how the program has enabled a small aboriginal community in northern B.C. to get diabetes under much better control.
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Canadian H1N1 vaccine approved

Canada has ordered 50 million doses from GlaxoSmithKline that are being produced at the company's Ste-Foy, Que., plant for what Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer, has described as "the largest immunization campaign in history."
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Seminar tackles First Nations diabetes

Lucia Bartleman remembers her grandmother harvesting and drying clams to save for later. Her job was to dig out the fat butter clams and to pluck the ducks her brother and father once hunted.A lot of that’s been lost now, said the Pauquachin First Nation health supervisor.“Our people used to eat things like fish, deer meat and clams,” Bartleman said. “We never had hamburgers ... it’s more foods from grocery stores that you see people buying now.” Read more>>

Emergency Service To First Nations In Canada To Improve - Government of Canada

The Government of Canada and the Province of Manitoba today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that marks another step forward in improving delivery of emergency management programs in First Nation communities.Read more>>

Provinces and territories receive first shipments of the H1N1 vaccine: official

The first shipments of the H1N1 vaccine have already reached the provinces and territories to allow local health officials immediate access to the vaccine once it is approved, an official with the Public Health Agency of Canada said Sunday.
News reports Sunday said the federal government is expected to approve the vaccine as early as this week and have it ready for distribution within a couple of days.Read more>>

Unique diabetes program has big impact on B.C. First Nation

In a report to be released Monday to the World Diabetes Congress in Montreal, [Chief Robert Joseph, Dr. Keith Dawson and his partner] detail how the program has enabled a small aboriginal community in northern B.C. to get diabetes under much better control.The unlikely trio joined forces to create Diabetes and My Nation, one of the few intervention programs that has been shown to make a real difference in fighting what Joseph describes as the "monstrous" problem in aboriginal communities, which have diabetes rates of up to five times the national average. Read more>>

First Nations' liquor-related deaths five times higher than others in B. C

Alcohol-related deaths among First Nations in B.C. are a staggering five times higher than for other British Columbians, says a prominent First Nations doctor, who argues aboriginal leaders need to start working on an alcohol strategy to save lives. Read more>>

Local control over Aboriginal health care improves outcomes, study indicates

As officials scramble to explain why Canadian Aboriginal people are especially vulnerable to pandemic (H1N1) 2009, health scientists in Manitoba and British Columbia have compiled striking evidence that First Nations control of health care leads to better health.
The findings, which were presented at the Canadian Public Health Association conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba, last June, also indicate that federal reluctance to invest in local nursing stations within First Nations communities impairs health outcomes and inflates costs to provincial health budgets. Read more>>

Song written for the missing and murdered Aboriginal women of Canada hits # 25 on the music charts

I Pray, a song written for the missing and murdered Aboriginal women of Canada,is quickly climbing the music charts on NCI’s Aboriginal top 30 countdown in Canada.
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Funding for aboriginal diabetes program at risk

The P.E.I. Native Council is worried that the funding it relies on to operate its diabetes awareness program is about to run out.
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First Nations aid dwindling

Children’s aid societies helping First Nations children say they are stuck with the bulk of a $67 million province wide cash crunch along with communities in areas of the province hit hard by the economic downturn.
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Contaminants investigated in Couchiching First Nation reservation

Several residents who live on Harry’s Road off Highway 11 in the Couchiching First Nation reservation are looking for answers about contamination in their land and homes.Two of the families living there were recommended to move, but have since been told by Health Canada that it is safe to live on the site. And residents, and the company performing tests on the land, question the effects of the contamination on Rainy Lake and its fish. Read more>>

Nunavut's tough road ahead: removing cigarettes from mainstream culture

According to a 2007 Statistics Canada report, 68 per cent of people in Nunavut reported living in homes where smoking was banned indoors. Few imposed such a restriction a decade ago.Still, the government's public health message continues to be diluted by the sheer number of smokers in Nunavut: so many use tobacco that it is still perceived as an acceptable risk. Read more>>

First Nations must find ways to curb alcohol use: MD

Alcohol-related deaths among First Nations in B.C. are a staggering five times higher than for other British Columbians, says a prominent First Nations doctor, who argues aboriginal leaders need to start working on an alcohol strategy to save lives.
Dr. Evan Adams, aboriginal health physician adviser in the office of the Provincial Health Officer, believes First Nations need to get over their discomfort in talking about alcohol misuse. Read more>>

Diabetes a quiet and growing epidemic

Diabetes is linked to close to 40,000 deaths a year in Canada and thousands more people are maimed by the disease, which is overwhelming the meagre medical services in many remote communities. Unchecked, doctors fear the disease will swamp the health-care system. Part of the problem is that there is no microbe to blame for diabetes and no magic pill to cure it. Read more>>

Sugar babies: Diabetes taking toll on children

Across Canada, aboriginal children are developing Type 2 diabetes at a higher rate than the general population, as are youngsters of South Asian and Caribbean descent. The risk is highest in the Oji-Cree families seen in the Manitoba clinic. Read more>>

Doctors call Nunavut's alarming smoking rates 'a health crisis'

Nunavut's smoking rate is more than double the national average (22 per cent) and is considerably higher than those in the Northwest Territories (36 per cent) and Yukon (30 per cent).Today in Nunavut, young and old alike suffer from the territory's extreme smoking: The leading causes of death in Nunavut are cancer, respiratory disease and heart disease; smoking is a major risk factor in all of them. Read more>>

Flu kits flown to Manitoba First Nations

Flu-fighting supply kits will be delivered to every home in Manitoba First Nations communities, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said Wednesday.
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Mercury poison in country food could lead to more strokes, heart attacks

High levels of mercury in the blood of adults in Nunavik appear to be upping their blood pressure— which could be a cause for concern because high blood pressure can lead to heart attacks and strokes.
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Inuit sexual health conference underway in Iqaluit

Inuit leaders, policy makers and health-care officials from across Canada's North are in Iqaluit this week for a first-ever national conference on sexual health.
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Body bag probe found no 'ill will': Aglukkaq

An investigation into the recent shipment of body bags to remote First Nations communities has found Health Canada made a "clear overestimation" of the need in some cases, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said Wednesday.
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Vancouver, Urban Aboriginal Community Kitchen Garden. First Nations grow their own produce and harvest traditional foods.

Food sustainability for First Nations, says garden co-ordinator Mary Holmes, “is really food sovereignty. It’s people having access to food used in their traditional kitchens: salmon, berries and roots, things that make them feel connected to the land and each other.”
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Mercury poison in country food could lead to more strokes, heart attacks

High levels of mercury in the blood of adults in Nunavik appear to be upping their blood pressure— which could be a cause for concern because high blood pressure can lead to heart attacks and strokes.
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Healthy Lifestyle Challenge produces positive results for First Nations residents

A gala conclusion of the six-month-long challenge held on Saturday at the Mississauga First Nation brought together many of the participants in the challenge, each eager to share their success story. For many of the participants, the challenge became a life-changing event in a very positive way.
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McGuinty government’s $4.2-million in funding cuts to First Nations child welfare agencies

Ontario’s NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says the McGuinty government’s $4.2-million in funding cuts to First Nations child welfare agencies must be reversed.
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Body bag probe found no 'ill will': Aglukkaq

An investigation into the recent shipment of body bags to remote First Nations communities has found Health Canada made a "clear overestimation" of the need in some cases, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said Wednesday
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H1N1 kits heading to Manitoba First Nations communities

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is shipping the first of 15,500 flu-preparedness kits to First Nations communities Wednesday.
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Inuit sexual health conference underway in Iqaluit

The National Inuit Policy Forum on Sexual Health, hosted by Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, brings together delegates from Nunavut, the Nunavik in northern Quebec, the Nunatsiavut in Labrador and the Inuivialuit from the Northwest Territories.
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Missing, murdered aboriginal ‘sisters’ remembered in vigil

It was the fourth annual vigil to commemorate the more than 500 aboriginal women who have gone missing or have been murdered in the last 30 years. Research by the Native Women’s Association of Canada shows that most of these cases go unsolved, and that law enforcement can be slow to put resources into the investigations, particularly if the women had a history of drug use or prostitution. Human rights activists are calling for a national plan to deal with crime and violence against aboriginal women.

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Poverty, overcrowding in N. Ont. puts people at greater risk for H1N1: critics

Remote and First Nation communities in northern Ontario could be more vulnerable to the spread of swine flu this fall, critics say amid reports that a widely expected second wave of H1N1 may have already arrived in the province.Despite provincial assurances that preparations are underway, aboriginal leaders and opposition parties say poverty and overcrowding are creating dangerous situations on reserves and in far-flung communities with little access to doctors and nurses.

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Feed the children of Nunavut, report card urges

The Government of Nunavut should create school lunch and snack programs "immediately" to make sure Nunavut children get enough to eat, the Oct. 1 Qanukkanniq report card recommends.
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First Nations rally to save healing program

First Nations people are gathering at the Manitoba legislature on Thursday to protest the end of a program that provides counselling to former students of Indian residential schools.
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First Nations rally to save healing program

First Nations people are gathering at the Manitoba legislature on Thursday to protest the end of a program that provides counselling to former students of Indian residential schools.
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Alberta to immunize against H1N1

Although other provinces are wondering whether immunizing against H1N1 is the right thing to do, Alberta said it's going forward with a two-step plan to immunize everyone against the new strain.
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Canadian pharma seeks H1N1 flu victims for research

A Canadian pharmaceutical company believes a treatment for the H1N1 flu could be hiding in the arteries of people who caught the bug and recovered.
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Baffin hunters threaten revolt over Nunavut government polar bear quotas

The polar bear may now be a symbol for why the world must curb climate change in the Arctic.
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Improve access to services in N.W.T.'s 11 languages: commissioner

People in the Northwest Territories must be able to access health care and other basic services in any of the territory's 11 official languages, Languages Commissioner Sarah Jerome reminded MLAs on Monday.
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First Nation plans to charge rent for band housing

A First Nations community in northern Manitoba thinks it's come up with a novel solution to its housing problems.
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Canadian infant mortality among worst in group: Study

Canada continues to have one of the highest infant mortality rates in the developed world, a trend that has held since the 1990s, according to a new study.
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Native women's group elects new leader

The leadership turnover among Canada's national aboriginal organizations continued this weekend, as the Native Women's Association of Canada elected Jeannette Corbiere-Lavell as its new president.
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Pond Inlet woman resists GN, gives birth at home

Unlike most other young children in the community, Pond Inlet’s newest resident, Jaide Inuaraq, came into the world with the help of two traditional midwives.
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Conference Board creates northern research centre

The Conference Board of Canada has launched a "virtual centre for the north" that will produce $5 million worth of research on issues ranging from climate change to the northern economy.
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Labrador Inuit, Innu to get flu vaccine first

Aboriginal people in Labrador will be given the H1N1 vaccine before other area residents, says a provincial health official.
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More foster care resources needed in Nunavut: department

Nunavut's social services officials say they are aware of concerns about sending Inuit children to foster homes south of 60, but add that they don't have enough resources to keep all foster children in the territory.
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Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq still stumped over body bags sent to reserves

WINNIPEG — It's been over a week but Canada's health minister said she still doesn't know why dozens of body bags were sent to some Manitoba reserves in preparation for flu season.
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Agency receives $20K grant for aboriginal programming

WINNIPEG - The Behavioural Health Foundation has received a $20,000 federal grant to develop culturally-appropriate programming for the aboriginal community.
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Ground broken on aboriginal care home

WINNIPEG - Ground was broken this morning for a $21-million personal care home for the city’s aboriginal community.
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Nursing schools developing cultural safe curriculum

The Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada (A.N.A.C.), together with its partner, the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN), have selected six Canadian Schools of Nursing as representative schools for the implementation of new Nursing curriculum based on cultural safety competencies.
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B.C. reserve hit by first outbreak of the fall flu season, experts say

The Ahousaht First Nation, a small native community off the coast of Vancouver Island, is known for being the home of Shawn Atleo, the chief of the Assembly of First Nations. But yesterday it earned a dubious distinction: the home of what some medical experts say is Canada's first H1N1 pandemic outbreak of the fall flu season.
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H1N1 vaccine key for future outbreaks, Montreal officials say

Health officials in Montreal are urging people to get vaccinated against the H1N1 virus because they expect the next outbreak – either this fall or winter – to be as widespread as the wave of infections that spread across the island last spring.
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Stop sending Nunavut's foster children away: petition

A foster mother in Pond Inlet, Nunavut, has started a petition urging the territorial government to stop sending Inuit foster children to homes in southern Canada, where she said children are losing their culture.
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Better H1N1 protection for homeless needed

The health of Manitoba's homeless population needs to be safeguarded against a potential outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus this fall, says the co-chair of a Winnipeg drop-in centre.
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Manitoba chief wants to lock down community against swine flu

A new case of the H1N1 virus in Manitoba has prompted the chief of a nearby First Nations reserve to prepare plans to isolate the community until its members can be vaccinated.
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Ottawa, First Nations announce flu strategy

Following a tense week that saw it criticized for sending body bags to First Nations, the federal government on Saturday announced a joint action plan with Canada's aboriginal communities to deal with potentially deadly outbreaks of H1N1 flu.
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Nunavut tests aerial surveys of polar bears

Scientific efforts are underway in Nunavut to develop less invasive ways of surveying polar bears, addressing Inuit concerns about the physical handling of bears.
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Fears over H1N1 flu rising in NWT community

Fear over the possible spread of swine flu has started to spread in some of the most isolated communities in the Northwest Territories, prompting claims that calls for medical help have fallen on deaf ears.
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BC health officials call journal report on flu 'irresponsible, inflammatory'

VANCOUVER, B.C. — A B.C. health official called the Canadian Medical Association Journal "irresponsible and inflammatory" on Thursday for an article about the H1N1 influenza virus circulating in a Vancouver Island aboriginal community.
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Health minister orders probe over flu body bags

The federal health minister has ordered an inquiry into why the government sent body bags to Manitoba aboriginal reserves as part of preparation kits for a possible swine flu outbreak.
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Health Canada official takes blame for body bags

A senior Health Canada official is apologizing for sending dozens of body bags to a handful of remote First Nations in Manitoba.
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Remote B.C. community hit by H1N1

The outbreak is significant because it confirms what public health officials had feared: An early flu season. The fact that cases are mild also hints at what's to come with influenza this fall.
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Woman walking to help aboriginal children

Tamara Malcolm remembers the day she was taken from her family and shuffled between a hotel and foster homes.
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No squabbling promised over children's health

Promising health comes first, Saskatchewan federal, provincial and First Nations politicians signed an agreement Wednesday to ensure jurisdictional issues will not hold up treatment for children needing medical attention.
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Feds announce priority list for flu shots

People with chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease can go to the front of the line when Canadians are offered the H1N1 influenza vaccine this fall.
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Ottawa sends body bags to First Nations fighting H1N1

First Nations chiefs in northern Manitoba say Health Canada sent an ominous message to their reserves this week when dozens of body bags were included in shipments of medical supplies for H1N1 influenza.
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B.C. First Nation wants Prince Rupert schools to teach its language

A First Nation in Prince Rupert wants local schools to teach its language. The school board is considering the request by the Prince Rupert Haida Nation by having a consultant investigate the costs and benefits of such a program.
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Health facility, high school under construction on First Nation

The Opaskwayak Cree Nation near The Pas is bustling with backhoes and bulldozers.

Last week, work on a new, multi-million dollar high school on the First Nation began and this week, construction started on a new $4.5-million specialized health facility.
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Feds shortchanging aboriginal child services: AFN

The federal government is underfunding aboriginal child welfare agencies, the Canadian Human Right Tribunal heard Monday.
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Pauktuutit plans sexual health forum

Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada plans to convene a policy forum on Inuit sexual health in Iqaluit, Oct. 6 to Oct. 8, the organization announced in a news release Tuesday.
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Inuit gather on Parliament Hill to mark suicide prevention day

About 200 people gathered on Parliament Hill on Thursday to mark World Suicide Prevention Day and call attention particularly to suicide among natives.
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Health team makes first visit to First Nations villages

A team of health professionals visited the communities of Kitkatla and Metlakatla on Friday. Their goal was to see what the medical needs are within both communities and heard that the number one concern is the lack of doctors.
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Manitoba launches $47M flu plan

Manitoba's $47-million battle plan against the H1N1 influenza includes recruiting retired nurses and perhaps enlisting pharmacists and paramedics to be on the front lines should the pandemic bug hit the province with a vengeance this fall.
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Manitoba among ’best prepared’ for swine flu

Manitoba is spending $47 million on vaccines, antiviral drugs and protective equipment and is one of the better prepared provinces for the expected resurgence of the swine flu, say health officials.
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Garden River First Nation flu plan given top praise

The Garden River First Nations Wellness Centre has received top praise from Health Canada, leading national health officials, and the all party House of Commons Standing Committee on Health for its proactive pandemic flu plan.
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Contraband cigarettes popular with teens

Teenagers are smoking a surprising amount of contraband cigarettes, which is undermining tobacco-prevention strategies, a new study suggests.
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Ottawa specialists take on geography, weather and even stubborn polar bears to help residents of Nunavut get medical care

It was 7 a.m. when Ottawa’s Dr. John Mahoney got a frantic call from doctors at the Qikiqtani General Hospital in Iqaluit. A man with a ruptured bladder needed emergency surgery, but the procedure was beyond the expertise of the hospital’s only general surgeon.
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We’re ready for H1N1, northern premiers say

Canada’s three northern premiers say they’re satisfied, so far, with the amount of help they’re getting from Ottawa right now to help prepare for a possible swine flu pandemic this fall.
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First Nations need own health system: task force

First Nations could soon form their own health regions, own their own pharmacies and control their own health information and research, say members of a new task force.
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In death, three women shine light on a Manitoba epidemic

All three of them, as children, were hooked on crack cocaine and locked into a life spent selling themselves for money, drugs, food, shelter and the illusion of protection they couldn't get anywhere else.
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Canada will get vaccine by October: health chief

Canada will have a pandemic vaccine by early next month, and could speed up delivery to Canadians if the swine-flu virus turns more severe in the fall, the country's chief public-health officer says.
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First Nations want to be first in line for vaccine

The H1N1 flu vaccine will reach all First Nations reserves this fall, but a successful immunization campaign will depend on leaders mobilizing their communities, a Health Canada official told Alberta chiefs Wednesday.
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Gap widening between Saskatchewan's rich and poor: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report

A report that chronicles “a new and troubling phenomenon in Saskatchewan’’ of increased economic inequality over 30 years was released Thursday.
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New action group for vulnerable aboriginal women

On the heels of a police task force, the province is hoping to assist in the safety of aboriginal women through the community.
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New grand chief says 1st priority is swine flu preparations for northern Man.

THE PAS, Man. — The newest grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc. says his first priority is to prepare northern communities for the looming H1N1 crisis.
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Agency offers 'tool kits' to help families of lost women

Canada's epidemic of missing and murdered aboriginal women has become so widespread a national agency has developed 'tool kits' to help families through the ordeal.
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Health minister touts cash but chiefs say First Nations left behind in flu prep

Manitoba's First Nations are being left out of the federal government's swine flu preparations even though their communities have been hardest hit by the virus, the province's chiefs said Tuesday.
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First Nations child welfare meetings begin

FREDERICTON - A community meeting to discuss child welfare services in New Brunswick's 15 First Nations will start on the Burnt Church reserve today. The meeting will be one of six held before the end of the month, leading up to an independent report about the system to be finished January.
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Canada's top doctor says no delay in flu vaccine

Canada is not moving too slowly on the production and approval of the H1N1 flu vaccine, the country's chief public health officer said Tuesday in response to renewed questions about whether the vaccine will be rolled out in time to protect Canadians from a second wave of the ongoing pandemic.
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16 First Nations clinics under construction

Construction of 16 nursing stations and health clinics in First Nations communities is underway across Canada, thanks to $135 million in federal funding, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said Tuesday.
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First Nations target of health-care funding

Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq is announcing details of more than $400 million in funding for First Nations health-care projects on Tuesday, Canwest News Service has learned.
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Canada's flu strategy flawed: CMAJ

Canada's strategy to vaccinate its entire population against the pandemic H1N1 virus has come under attack by the country's leading medical journal. It warns that Canadians with the highest risk of developing the potentially fatal flu are more likely to fall victim because they won't receive shots as quickly as others elsewhere in the world.
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National conference seeks to preserve and protect First Nations cemeteries

Organizers of the first national conference on aboriginal cemeteries hope to lay the groundwork for others to follow.
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Feds, First Nations leaders at odds on swine flu preparations

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq and a First Nations chief had widely divergent views Friday on the state of flu pandemic preparedness plans for aboriginal communities.
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No plans to remedy 'national shame'

The B.C. government has no concrete plans to do anything about what it calls the "national shame" of First Nations housing, Aboriginal Relations Minister George Abbott has confirmed.
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Ottawa trying to speed delivery of swine flu vaccine

Federal health officials say they are trying to speed up the delivery of Canada's swine flu vaccine, but won't rush into making it available before it's been thoroughly tested and approved.
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Nunavik to get $34.5 million for troubled youth

Quebec hopes to manage the crisis in youth protection services in Nunavik by spending more money on staff housing and importing social workers from southern Quebec.
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Funds will help secure the future for First Nations families

The federal government, the Province and First Nations in Prince Edward Island have come together to back a $1.7-million, five-year plan for First Nations Child and Family Services.
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Judge says no slaughter of Quebec sled dogs, but criticizes police

There was no mass slaughter of sled dogs by the RCMP and provincial police during the 1950s and '60s in northern Quebec, according to the interim report of a judge who investigated the long-standing allegations.
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Manitoba chiefs to testify before Parliamentary health committee about H1N1

Manitoba First Nation leaders whose communities were hit hard by H1N1 influenza this spring will tell their stories to the Parliamentary health committee Friday.
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First Nations runners to head for Washington

First Nations long-distance runners plan to run from Winnipeg to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about the quality of health care available to indigenous people.
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On-reserve building about to take on a green hue

First Nations building inspectors could soon be among the greenest in the country, thanks in part to federal stimulus money.
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Unsolved murders of women under review by Winnipeg police

The Winnipeg Police Service is undertaking an extensive review of all unsolved murder cases in the city involving women, the CBC has learned.
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Metis Health Care Providers To Benefit From Mental Health Care Expertise Of Providence Care And Queen’s University

The Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) is renewing its landmark agreement with Queen’s University and leading health care provider Providence Care, which specializes in mental health.
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Use traditional medicine to fight flu: Manitoba chief

The head of a Manitoba First Nations organization is calling on his fellow chiefs to look to traditional aboriginal medicine to help fight the next wave of swine flu, also called H1N1.
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2 Winnipeg friends found dead weeks apart

Two Winnipeg women whose bodies were found a little more than a month apart were friends who shared meals and movies.
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Island camp teaches Metis youth about their roots

A group of Vancouver Island Metis youth got to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors during a three-day camp on Newcastle Island.
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Canada's latest flu challenge: distribution

Canada does not have the manpower to deliver the H1N1 influenza vaccine as quickly as it becomes available, despite ordering enough doses to inject all of its citizens.
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Two flu-shot rounds slated for Manitobans

Manitobans who want to protect themselves against the flu will need to stand in line twice.
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Nightmare HIV scenario for Sask. First Nations unlikely: Health officer

A prediction that HIV could kill up to 30 per cent of the aboriginal population in Saskatchewan in the next five to 10 years is based on a real and alarming spike in cases — but there are reasons why the worst-case scenario likely won't happen, says the province's chief medical health officer.
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HIV could devastate Sask. First Nations: doctor

Drawing a startling comparison between Canadian native reserves and areas of sub-Saharan Africa, a Saskatchewan medical health officer is warning that HIV could kill up to 30 per cent of the province's aboriginal population over the next five to 10 years.
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Harper stresses social welfare, economy in northern spending

From highways to harbours to housing, Stephen Harper insists his government's focus on the North goes far beyond the elaborate military operation now under way to assert Canada's Arctic sovereignty.
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Flu kits could aid spread of virus

The federal government likely won't help fund flu kits for Manitoba First Nations — and the country's top doctor says some of the items in the kits may actually make the spread of H1N1 influenza worse.
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Local residents give their communities poor sustainability rating, study finds

Very few residents in and around Clayoquot Sound give their communities a good rating when it comes to sustainability.
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Inuit leaders talk northern issues with PM

Inuit leaders pressed Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday at a meeting in Iqaluit on issues they believe are important to Nunavut residents.
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Harper says social issues 'more acute' in North

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the North's social problems, in the spotlight since controversial photos surfaced last week, are "more acute" than those in many other regions.
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Chief says federal gov't hasn't prepared First Nations for H1N1 resurgence

Manitoba's grand chief says Ottawa hasn't done enough to prepare First Nations for an expected resurgence of swine flu in the fall, leaving communities to raise funds for basic supplies and forcing the provincial government to fill the void.
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Mary Simon: The federal government's Arctic plans need Inuit spirit

I live in Kuujjuaq, Nunavik's largest community, located on the western shore of Quebec's Koksoak River, about 50 kilometres upstream from Ungava Bay. Along with my birthplace, Kangiqsualujjuaq to the east, Kuujjuaq sits almost directly on the 58th parallel. It has what might be described as the geographic misfortune of being situated just south of the 60th parallel at a time when federal officials are directing their gazes north of 60.
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Youth crime prevention gets $5.6M from Ottawa

Four Edmonton organizations are getting a combined $5.6 million from the federal government to prevent at-risk young people from turning to crime.
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Province to help pay for aboriginal flu kits

The provincial government will help pick up the tab for thousands of flu kits that will help ailing aboriginal communities combat an expected resurgence of H1N1 this fall.
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Jails brimming with aboriginal inmates

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Though aboriginal people account for only a small percentage of Canada's population, they continue to be over-represented in jails across the country.
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Health minister tells doctors H1N1 challenge looms

The expected surge in H1N1 cases this fall could challenge Canada's medical community like nothing before, federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq told Canadian doctors Monday as she issued a rallying cry to physicians.
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Cabinet ministers set to support seal hunters

It might not be the dramatic sampling of a freshly slaughtered seal but senior cabinet ministers plan to show solidarity with Canada's seal hunters today when they sit down to lunch.
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In Nunavut, the problems are familiar, and so are the solutions

It took a photo of two boys sleeping on the pavement in Iqaluit to show Canada the face of a young population in crisis.
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Half of Nunavut's social worker positions vacant

Nunavut's social workers are doing what they can to help children in need of care, despite a severe staff shortage, a government official said.
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Aboriginal centre comes alive at Whistler

At the Squamish and Lil'wat Cultural Centre, which opened June 17, 2008, visitors can get a taste of life before ski runs, bars, cafes and mountain biking turned this forest into one of the world's top resorts.
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Cowessess First Nation's pandemic planning ahead of its time

The Cowessess First Nation is a community that's ahead of its time when it comes to pandemic planning.
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Arctic ice experiencing severe summer retreat: Experts

As Prime Minister Stephen Harper heads north next week for what's become his annual summer visit to the Arctic, he will encounter a world scientists believe is in the midst of an unprecedented and irreversible transformation, where retreating sea ice and related environmental changes are radically reshaping the region's future.
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Native protesters blockade Manitoba dam project

Members of a First Nation are blocking access to a $1.3-billion hydroelectric development project in northern Manitoba.
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Millions fewer salmon

The sockeye just aren't coming and the finger-pointing has begun.

More than 10.6 million sockeye were predicted to return to the Fraser River, but official estimates are less than two million now.
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Aboriginal man taunted while dying: Witness

An aboriginal agency says a man left lying still for hours by passersby in Grandview Park on one of the hottest days of the year was ignored for too long -- and then taunted by firefighters and paramedics.
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Restoring salmon streams and sand dunes

Over the next five years, Parks Canada will be working with local communities, first nations, organizations, and visitors to help restore, and raise awareness about, salmon stream and sand dune ecosystems in the park.
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U of G, Inuit Community Team to Study Climate Change

Guelph - Three University of Guelph researchers will spend the next year studying the impacts of climate change on health in an Inuit community in northern Newfoundland and Labrador. They'll rely on storytelling and digital technology to gather data and create educational materials.
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Manitoba's aboriginals, pregnant women and homeless get priority for flu drug

The province that experienced an acute outbreak of swine flu on its northern reserves is making it easier for aboriginals and other vulnerable patients to get free antiviral drugs in a bid to lessen the impact of the virus come fall.
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Inuit fear Canadian flu plan won't work

The national Inuit committee on health is calling on Canadian health officials to develop a specific strategy for dealing with an H1N1 pandemic in northern Inuit communities.
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Flu fears prompt a few no-shows at First Nations Summer Games

Concerns about the H1N1 virus, also known as the swine flu, have prompted a handful of First Nations to stay away from the upcoming aboriginal Summer Games.
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Officials bolster H1N1 strategy for First Nations

The image of dozens of aboriginal residents being flown to Winnipeg for treatment of the H1N1 virus convinced Manitoba and Ontario to revise how northern native communities will be treated if the outbreak occurs again.
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Aboriginal groups look at how traditional healers might help fight swine flu

For a sore throat, the roots of a type of plant that grows in the water.

For a fever, the gum and needles of a spruce tree, boiled together and swallowed first thing in the morning. To prevent the spread of infection, the inner and outer bark of the spruce, given to everyone in a household.

These are just a few of the techniques aboriginal healer Be'sha Blondin would use to fight swine flu if it came to her community.
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Pangnirtung prepares own pandemic plan

Hamlet officials in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, say they've stopped waiting for territorial health officials to tell them how to deal with the swine flu pandemic, opting instead to develop their own plan.
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Ottawa to order 50.4M doses of H1N1 vaccine

Governments won't get bogged down in jurisdictional squabbling on pandemic planning that could hold up the delivery of health services to Canadians, Canada's premiers pledged yesterday.
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RCMP officer loses 200 pounds

RCMP officer Marge Hudson in 2004. Hudson has lost more than 200 pounds through healthy eating and exercise in the last five years.
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First Nations Group Takes Major Steps in Support of Youth Healing

With a goal of supporting First Nation Youth, a group led by Restorative Justice Worker, Betty Achneepineskum, will embark on a very challenging and enduring journey, walking from Thunder Bay all the way to Chapleau Cree First Nation.
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AFN chief Atleo wants H1N1 plan for First Nations

Shawn Atleo, the newly-elected national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), said he’s looking for a “plan for action” on the H1N1 virus, as aboriginal leaders met with provincial and territorial premiers Wednesday.
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First Nations calls for swine flu state of emergency

First Nations chiefs in Manitoba called on the provincial and federal governments to declare a state of emergency on Wednesday because of the spread of swine flu on reserves and the lag time in responding to it.
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Youth suicide discussed in the open

A group of health-care professionals and representatives from across Manitoba First Nation reserves recently learned more about how to prevent youth suicide.
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Pandemic planners fear doomsday scenario in isolated North

Imagine your child is sick, but the Arctic community where you live has no hospital, no permanent doctor, and you must fly to the nearest hospital because there are no roads.
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Gathering helpful to Native youth

Trent Agawa of Brunswick House First Nation is feeling good about himself these days. He claims he owes much of that to his participation in workshops at the third-annual Wabun Youth Gathering.
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First Nations need better access to swine flu vaccine: AFN

Canada's Aboriginal Peoples need to be guaranteed access to drugs to treat the H1N1 virus in the face of a looming vaccine shortage, the Assembly of First Nations said Friday.
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Chiefs demand H1N1 drugs

Remote Manitoba First Nations are worried a resurgence of severe H1N1 flu will hit before they're armed with the same arsenal of tools that helped a nearby Ontario reserve "stop flu in its tracks."
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Ontario First Nations Pandemic: First Nation H1N1 Situational Update

As of July 17, 2009, there are over 10,000 laboratory confirmed cases of H1N1 flu cases in Canada. Of these, 3636 have been in Ontario. Among First Nations on reserve, 60 confirmed cases have been reported in ten communities in Sioux Lookout Zone, eight communities in Thunder Bay zone and one community in Southern Zone.
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BC First Nations community to reclaim buildings, go geothermal

A project is underway to retrofit overcrowded, degraded buildings in a British Columbia (B.C.) First Nations community.
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Canada natives fear swine flu spread in coming months

Canada's native communities already hard hit by the swine flu pandemic could witness a devastating spike in the number of cases during the region's long winter months ahead, health experts warn.
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Toxins to be removed from former Arctic military site

Various toxic contaminants will be cleaned up from an abandoned American military site north of Clyde River, Nunavut, as part of a multi-year cleanup project by the Canadian government and local Inuit.
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GN to start vaccinating girls against HPV

The Government of Nunavut plans to start vaccinating all Grade 6 female students this winter against the human papillomavirus, or HPV.
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National First Nations chief talks tough

The new national leader of aboriginals in Canada served notice to the federal government Thursday that he will be taking a tough stand to ensure Ottawa fulfils its obligations to his people.
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Atleo elected new AFN chief

Shawn Atleo has been elected as the new national chief of the Assembly of First Nations after an eighth ballot.
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CMAJ: Federal policies fuel spread of swine flu

Longstanding federal strategies and polices have exacerbated the rapid spread of Novel A(H1N1) influenza in remote First Nations communities, public health officials and aboriginal health experts charge.
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New project targets First Nations diabetes with better access to food and education

The project — which is a collaboration between the local First Nation Band Council and University of Toronto researchers — is a good example of how grass roots enthusiasm can improve aboriginal health.
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Ottawa will weigh request for H1N1 priority

Government will consider risk factors facing native communities, including higher rates of underlying disease and crowded living conditions, when deciding who should be a priority for the H1N1 vaccine, a federal official said in Calgary on Wednesday.
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Liberals say squabbling between governments keeping flu help from native groups

Aboriginal communities have already been hit hard by the H1N1 virus, and now squabbling about who's responsible for their health is stalling vital flu preparations ahead of a potential resurgence, Liberal MPs and native leaders charged Tuesday.
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Elders help with Pandemic Preparations

First Nations have experienced epidemics and pandemics of diseases in the past and the knowledge gained from that experience exists in the hearts and minds of Elders who survived.
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Fontaine fears aboriginal people will be vulnerable to federal cuts

The outgoing national chief of the Assembly of First Nations said aboriginal people in Canada could be put in a vulnerable position once the country recovers from the recession and the federal government begins focusing on reducing the deficit.
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Native volunteers respond to blood drive call

Canada's bone marrow donor registry matches volunteers who are willing to donate their bone marrow to people who need it to treat life-threatening illnesses. About one per cent of the people on the registry are of aboriginal descent, officials say.
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New health centre opens to fanfare

Following a deeply significant ceremony, the H'ult-etun Health Society (HHS) opened its new headquarters July 15.
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First Nations need better access to swine flu vaccine: AFN

Canada's Aboriginal Peoples need to be guaranteed access to drugs to treat the H1N1 virus in the face of a looming vaccine shortage, the Assembly of First Nations said Friday.
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Introducing the First Online Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Training Program

The program called River of Life is designed to enhance the capacity of First Nations to implement suicide intervention, prevention and postvention approaches.
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For Native Groups, the Link Between Cultural Loss and Poor Health

Researchers say measures that fall outside traditional health interventions might be needed to deal with some of the problems.
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Canada's Inuit A/H1N1 flu cases much younger than other groups

The median age of the A/H1N1 flu cases among Canada's Inuit population is significantly younger than other groups, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) reported Friday.
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Aboriginal Nurses concerned about impact of H1N1 on First Nations, Métis and Inuit people at high health risk

In response to the World Health Organization's announcement Monday that all nations need to set priorities for the H1N1 vaccine as the pandemic is deemed unstoppable, the Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada (A.N.A.C.) wants to highlight the critical need for ensuring the priority of First Nations, Inuit and Métis in receiving the seasonal flu vaccine when available in September and the pandemic H1N1 later in October or November.

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Yellow Quill mourns swine flu victim

A funeral was held Monday at the Yellow Quill First Nation for a 25-year-old woman who died of the H1N1 swine flu.
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Native leaders brace for flu season

Aboriginal leaders are bracing for a dark season on reserves if – as health authorities fear – the H1N1 virus's spread outpaces vaccine production at the height of the flu this autumn.
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Northern aboriginal suicide rate lower in Norway: researcher

Research suggests suicide rates among the Sami, the indigenous peoples of Norway, are lower than among other northern aboriginal groups.
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Why are aboriginals more susceptible to swine flu?

Social conditions on reserves, not genetic or the virus itself, are the cause of higher infection rates, study shows.
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SFI supports Habitat homes for Métis families

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative(R) (SFI(R)) program is supporting a unique Habitat for Humanity partnership that will result in 11 energy-efficient homes for low-income working families in Winnipeg.
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Cultural Loss Leads to Poorer Health for Ethnic Minorities

Some of the longest-lasting consequences of colonialization have been the long-term health effects on indigenous people in the places where settlers moved.
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Grandmother knows best in First Nation's effort to curb drugs, gangs

The chief and council of the Piapot First Nation are planning to set up an on-call service of "kokums," the Cree word for grandmother, to counsel teens and young parents. Mothers may also be involved with the project.
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A burden of poor health: Report focuses on health of aboriginal children in Canada

A national report has focused a light on the disturbing state of health among aboriginal children across Canada.
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N.W.T. wants more aboriginal workers

The government of the Northwest Territories is redoubling its efforts to boost the number of aboriginal people in the public service – especially in management jobs.
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H1N1 flu cases top 1,000 in Alberta

On the same day the public learned a second Alberta woman had died after contracting swine flu, a local infectious disease doctor called the H1N1 flu pandemic "the most important" health event of the last 40 years.
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Ottawa pushes plan to boost native economy

Ottawa has unveiled a new blueprint to boost the economy of Canada's exploding first nations population, pledging to increase access to business loans, provide more government contracts and speed the pace of development on reserves.
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Concerns raised about Minto mine's water discharge orders

The Yukon government says it's not worried about an emergency order allowing the Minto mine to discharge waste water, but a First Nation near the mine wants a hearing into the matter.
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Aboriginal communities get boost to active living

The governments of Canada and Ontario provided support to 53 First Nations community recreation projects with $31 million.
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First Nations pandemic teams bracing for fall flu carnage

A day after Manitoba marked its fifth death from the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, First Nations emergency planners in the province gathered on Monday to talk about how to prevent carnage in their communities this fall, when the flu is expected to surge.
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Celebrating Canada's diversity

Education is power, particularly when it comes to solving problems in health care and education among Canada's first peoples.

That's the message Dr. Paulette Tremblay, chief executive officer of the National Aboriginal Health Organization (NAHO) had for more than 30 seniors at Valleyview Home, Tuesday, as part of Canada Day celebrations at the local seniors' residence.
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International study links aboriginal health, lifestyle, local decision-making

Aboriginal people around the world are increasingly suffering from lifestyle-related illness such as heart disease, obesity and diabetes, according to a major new global study.
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Victoria resident reaches aboriginal youth with technology

Jeff Ward is using the Internet to teach ancient aboriginal languages, and that has led to recognition for being a role model from the National Aboriginal Health Organization.
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UNICEF Canada Report on Aboriginal Children’s Health Shows Disparities Between Aboriginal Children and National Averages

UNICEF Canada is marking the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child with the release today of a report called Aboriginal Children’s Health: Leaving No Child Behind- the Canadian Supplement to State of the World’s Children 2009.UNICEF Canada partnered with the National Collaborating Centre on Aboriginal Health to produce the report, which examines the health of Aboriginal children in Canada through the perspectives of national experts and analysis of existing data. The report concludes that health disparities between First Nations, Inuit and Métis children relative to national averages is one of the most significant children’s rights challenges facing our nation.
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Aboriginals show health gains: Report

Aboriginal health in B.C. has made significant gains in some areas but deteriorated in others, according to a provincial report released Thursday.
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Manitoba First Nations declare swine flu state of emergency

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs has declared a state of emergency in Manitoba First Nations over the swine flu pandemic.
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Manitoba First Nations declare swine flu state of emergency

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs has declared a state of emergency in Manitoba First Nations over the H1N1 pandemic.
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Aboriginal children's health below national averages: UNICEF

The infant mortality rate across Canadian First Nations reserves is up to seven times higher than among the general population, according to a report released Wednesday from UNICEF Canada.
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Alcohol worries kept hand sanitizers from flu-hit reserves

Federal officials spent days debating whether to send hand sanitizers to First Nations communities struggling with swine flu outbreaks because of their alcohol content, a Senate committee heard Tuesday.
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Kids, natives most in need of vaccine

Five-to-40-year-olds and Canada's aboriginal communities should be the first to get vaccinated against human swine flu, experts say as Canadian officials decide who gets priority for the flu shots.
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Northern Manitoba native groups co-ordinate swine flu response

Critical incident managers from northern Manitoba aboriginal reserves are in Winnipeg this week to co-ordinate their response to the swine flu outbreak.
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First Nations prime ground for H1N1 pandemic

Treaty 6 chiefs in Saskatchewan and Alberta will sign an agreement this week to work together on a medicine chest task force.
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Field hospital for flu-struck Manitoba reserve denied: Chiefs

During a meeting between the federal health minister and First Nations leaders Wednesday, the federal government turned down a request to set up a field hospital in a northern Manitoba First Nations region hit hard by swine flu, according to one of the chiefs who attended.
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Aboriginal healing - Native health care showing improvement

A large gap still exists between overall aboriginal health and that of the average Canadian with lower life expectancy rates and higher infant mortality and suicide rates for natives.
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Swine flu reaches Nunavut's Baffin region

The swine flu outbreak in Nunavut has spread to the Baffin Island region, meaning cases have been confirmed throughout the entire territory.
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Nunavut Inuit wouldn't change diet over contaminant fears: study

Many Inuit living in Nunavut say they wouldn't change their diet over concerns about contaminants in their traditional foods, according to recent research.
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Swine flu hitting northern Ont. First Nations; Lots of flu, Sandy Lake chief says

Swine flu has started to circulate in First Nations communities in northern Ontario, with hundreds of people falling ill on the Sandy Lake First Nation reserve.
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First Nations must pay out of pocket for swine flu drug or face delay

Members of First Nations in Saskatchewan are encountering bureaucratic hurdles when it comes to getting drug coverage for Tamiflu, an antiviral drug sometimes used in the treatment of swine flu.
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Black ooze at old Cold War station frightens Labrador town

Health officials have told residents of a small community on Labrador's coast to be wary of possible contamination from an abandoned military site in their midst.
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Manitoba First Nations, health system straining under flu outbreak

Flu-like illnesses continue to hit hard in Manitoba's First Nations communities, especially St. Theresa Point, where a two-month-old flown to Winnipeg Monday night became 27th medical evacuee from the community.
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Province issues plea for nurses to work in flu-stricken north

Manitoba's health minister has issued a public plea to doctors and nurses to help northern communities hit hard by swine flu.
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Swine flu count leaps to 143 in Nunavut

Officials said 47 new cases of swine flu were confirmed in Nunavut on Thursday, bringing the total number of infections from the H1N1 influenza virus to 143.
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Remoteness allied to overcrowding

Canada's pandemic readiness will be tested as much in remote aboriginal communities as in the schools and workplaces of the big cities. Although the influenza H1N1 (swine flu), declared an international pandemic yesterday by the World Health Organization, has been mostly mild, it has begun to strain the resources of fly-in reserves such as those in the northeastern corner of Manitoba.
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First Nation hit by H1N1 flu struggling to get medical supplies: chief

The spread of H1N1 flu to two isolated First Nations in Manitoba is a crisis says one chief because his community doesn't have the basic medical resources to deal with the situation.
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Procession marks first anniversary of residential schools apology

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine walked beside Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl on Thursday as they led a procession of about 1,000 aboriginals, students, union workers and church officials to the steps of Parliament Hill to mark the first anniversary of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's apology for residential schools.
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Aboriginal truth panel set for relaunch under new chair

A commission charged with gathering the stories of residential school survivors received a second start Wednesday when the Conservative government announced the names of the three people who will lead the journey into one of Canada's darkest chapters.
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Nunavut disputes WHO's concerns about swine flu spike

Nunavut's top health official is downplaying fears about the severity of swine flu there, especially after the World Health Organization stated concern about a spike in flu cases in the predominantly Inuit territory.
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Flu close to pandemic stage

The World Health Organization is on the brink of declaring the H1N1 influenza an official pandemic, and Canadian officials are watching two particularly vulnerable populations: young people and aboriginals.
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WHO getting close to declaring H1N1 pandemic

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday it was getting close to declaring a full-blown pandemic caused by the H1N1 virus, which has infected more than 26,500 people in 73 countries.
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Severe flu cases surge in Manitoba aboriginal community

The Manitoba government is reporting a surge in the number of people requiring intensive care for influenza-like illnesses, particularly among a relatively young aboriginal population.
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Helping aboriginal women avert diabetes

It was once common practice to tell pregnant mothers to put their feet up and eat for two.

Michelle Mottola, Director of the R. Samuel McLauglin Foundation – Exercise and Pregnancy Laboratory, centre, is helping to promote the importance of a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy to prevent gestational diabetes.
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Fontaine to step down as Assembly of First Nations chief

He became one of the most powerful aboriginal politicians in the country by preaching about the need to end native poverty.

And on Thursday, Phil Fontaine delivered that same message as he officially announced he will step away from his role as chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
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Métis pin big hopes on tiny Alberta upgrader

Twelve kilometres from the northern Alberta town of Cold Lake, a small Métis community is opening its land to industrial oil processing, in hopes the novel partnership will help fund construction of more homes and sewers.
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Northerners should take charge of Arctic's future, conference speakers say

Several high-profile northerners speaking in Ottawa this week say people living in Canada's North must set the tone in discussions and decisions being made about the Arctic.
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H1N1 flu cases confirmed on First Nations, in Winnipeg

The H1N1 influenza virus is responsible for at least two cases of severe illness at St. Theresa Point, and more than two dozen new cases were reported in Winnipeg, health officials confirmed today.
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Ottawa looks to redefine rules for Indian status

The Conservative government says it will rewrite the 19th century Indian Act this summer with "willing" aboriginal groups, opting not to challenge a court ruling that struck down the law's definition of Indian.
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New health services for Siksika Nation

The Siksika Nation, which is about an hour south of Calgary, has a new health services building.
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Arctic holds 13 per cent of world's undiscovered oil

The forbidding landscape of the Arctic contains 13 per cent of the world's remaining undiscovered oil and as much as 30 per cent of its natural gas deposits, a new study from the U.S. Geological Survey says.
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Most kids earn failing grade on exercise, report finds

Most Canadian kids are earning a failing grade for physical activity levels, as they continue to miss targets for daily exercise, a new report finds.
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More stain repelling chemicals found in Inuit's traditional food than in store foods

The Inuit's traditional diet of caribou, fish and whale contains more nonstick chemicals than store-bought foods, but the exposure poses minimal risk, say authors of a recent study.
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Suspected H1N1 flu outbreak hits reserve

An isolated First Nations community is scrambling to retool its pandemic plan after a suspected outbreak of H1N1 influenza sent five children and two pregnant women to hospital with a severe respiratory illness.
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Province Unveils New Tools to Help Manitobans Reduce Their Risk of Diabetes

New, easy-to-use online resources will help more Manitobans identify the risk factors that can lead to Type 2 diabetes and find ways to prevent or delay the onset of the disease, Healthy Living Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross announced today.
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N.W.T. studies making aboriginal languages equal to English, French

A second Arctic territory is moving to give aboriginal languages equal status with French and English following the release of a new report arguing that Canada's southern language law simply doesn't fit the Northwest Territories.
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'I am sorry,' N.W.T. bishop says to Dene residential school survivors

Dene who attended residential schools in Canada's North received an emotional apology Wednesday from the head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Northwest Territories.
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N.W.T. bishop to apologize to Dene for residential schools

Dene who attended residential schools in Canada will receive an apology Wednesday from the head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Northwest Territories.
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Communities in NWT call for slowing of oil sands development

With growing evidence that pollutants are causing fish deformities in the Athabasca River and one native village struggling to understand its elevated cancer rates, 33 communities in the Northwest Territories have called for a moratorium on oil sands developments because of fears about water quality.
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Métis health authority idea bandied about at meeting

Saskatchewan's Métis people have made historic steps towards greater involvement in their health-care delivery.
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Governor General kicks off visit to Nunavut with seal snack

Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean began a weeklong visit to Nunavut on Monday, as part of the territory's 10th anniversary celebrations.
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Opinions of First Nations sought in review of Indian Act

The standing Senate committee on Aboriginal Peoples is holding public hearings in Winnipeg and Dauphin this week. It is hearing from First Nations peoples on issues such as self-governance, political accountability and election reform.
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Nunavut politician to address British museum on Inuit role in Franklin expedition

Nunavut cabinet minister Tagak Curley is set to speak at a museum in England this weekend, hoping to refute what he says are false claims of Inuit as murderers of Sir John Franklin's crew in the Northwest Passage in the mid-1800s.
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Coroner's jury urges inquiry into First Nation services

A coroner's jury looking into the deaths of two young men at the Kashechewan First Nation in 2006 has recommended that a public inquiry or royal commission be held to examine the parity of services — community health and safety and quality of life — available to the Nishnawbe-Aski communities in Ontario.
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Ombudsman to review First Nations child welfare services

A provincial review of child welfare services in First Nations communities will benefit them, says a child and family services worker in Burnt Church.
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Vaccine could lower RSV infections among Inuit children: researcher

A high rate of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections among Inuit babies in Nunavut could be curbed if health officials give a costly but proven vaccine to them, according to a new study.
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Arctic research still 'business as usual' after polar year

This year promises to be a busy one for Arctic science, even though International Polar Year is officially over.
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Manitobans need to deal with aboriginal youths' sense of hopelessness

Manitobans need to work to address the entrenched sense of hopelessness that leads many aboriginal youth to suicide, a local researcher says.
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Sea otter hunt planned by Vancouver Island First Nations

A Vancouver Island First Nations group plans to hunt sea otters once again, after reaching a tentative deal with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
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Manitoba First Nations fighting wave of child suicides

Two Manitoba First Nations are struggling with a plague of child suicides, prompting alarmed community leaders to beg the federal government for help.
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Testing inconclusive on northern Alta. woman with H1N1 flu who died

Testing on a woman in northern Alberta who died after contracting H1N1 flu is inconclusive, Alberta's chief medical officer said Thursday.
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Aboriginal diet focus of survey

London's First Nations came together to feast last night and plan a healthier diet.
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Youth centre goes global

The droves of kids that flock to the Inuvik Youth Centre are well aware of all it has to offer. Now the secret is out for the rest of the world to see.
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Province Invests $1.2 Million to Train More Manitoba Nurses

The province of Manitoba will invest $1.2 million to begin training 74 additional nurses in communities across Manitoba, Advanced, Education and Literacy Minister Diane McGifford and Health Minister Theresa Oswald announced today.
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MP Neville wants Ottawa to look into disappearance of aboriginal women

Manitoba Liberal MP Anita Neville is asking Ottawa to launch a public and independent investigation of the disappearances of hundreds of aboriginal women in the last few decades.
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Federal Court of Canada rejects aboriginal bid to block pipelines

The Federal Court of Canada rejected Tuesday a bid by Manitoba aboriginal bands to block construction of three major pipeline projects.
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Protect water from oilsands or risk lawsuits: First Nations

First Nations groups warned a federal environment committee Tuesday they would turn to the courts to address their concerns if their water supplies were not protected from oilsands development.
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U.S. polar bear decisions frustrate Nunavut Inuit group

The latest decision by the U.S. government to keep limiting the protection of polar bears has the head of a Nunavut Inuit association frustrated with that country's overall handling of the iconic Arctic species.
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Hub offers help for Aboriginals

Children and family services, mental and physical health support - the newly opened Aboriginal Community Hub provides a wide range of support mechanisms in Abbotsford.
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Overcrowding blamed in house fire death of boy on Sandy Bay reserve

Calls are being made for political leaders to address housing problems in First Nations communities, as a wake is held for a Manitoba boy who died Thursday in a house fire.
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First Nations community plans to isolate itself in event of pandemic

An Indian reserve in Saskatchewan says its plan in the event of a pandemic of the kind that could result from the current outbreak of swine flu is to hunker down and keep the community sealed from outside contact.
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Youth home condition “scandalous,” union says

The Saturvik youth home in Kuujjuaq is in a "scandalous" and "shameful" condition, says Silvie Joly, an advisor with Quebec's largest labour union.
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WRHA appoints four aboriginal members

Manitoba has appointed four aboriginal members to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority's board of directors.
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Inuit TV programs focus on men, youth, childbirth

Men who want to be the best they can be, youth eager to take on the world and women who helping make birth a more positive experience are the focus of three television programs to air next week on APTN North.
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Heart attack symptoms vary among ethnic groups, Calgary study finds

A Calgary researcher hopes to expand a study that suggests people from non-white backgrounds are not getting to a hospital quickly enough when they suffer heart attacks.
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Canada threatens WTO complaint over European seal product ban

The federal government says it will launch a complaint with the World Trade Organization unless Canada is exempted from the European Parliament's ban on seal products.
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First leg of seal hunt reaches quota

Sealers taking part in Canada’s controversial yearly hunt have slaughtered some 19,411 seals so far this year, reaching their full kill-quota, fisheries officials said Thursday.
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AFN Launches Fitness Challenge on National Aboriginal Diabetes Awareness Day

On May 1, 2009, National Aboriginal Diabetes Awareness Day, the Assembly of First Nations is calling on teachers for help in organizing this year's Fitness Challenge which is aimed at First Nations students.
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National organization launched for southern Inuit

Meeka Otway of Edmonton will tell you that living in a southern Canadian city can be tremendously isolating for an Inuk, which is why she welcomes the creation of new organization for urban Inuit.
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Pope offers sympathy for residential school victims

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine said it was a "significant gesture" Wednesday that Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged the suffering of thousands of aboriginal Canadians in residential schools run by the Roman Catholic Church.
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Aboriginal Sport Circle announces 2008 Tom Longboat Athlete and National Aboriginal Coaching award recipients

The Aboriginal Sport Circle (ASC) is pleased to announce the National recipients for the 2008 Tom Longboat Athlete and National Aboriginal Coaching awards.
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Métis, First Nations projects receive funding boost

Seven new projects aimed at improving the health of Métis and Aboriginal people in Saskatchewan will receive money this year from the federal government.
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Aboriginal cuisine preps for the world stage

With Aboriginal foods about to be catapulted into the spotlight during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, these students are learning lessons that will help preserve their culture and may also nourish what some see as the next big thing on the local culinary scene - Aboriginal fusion cuisine.
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First Nations delegation to meet privately with Pope

On the eve of its private audience with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Wednesday, a small delegation from Canada's Assembly of First Nations hailed the event as "historic and momentous."
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Grandmothers the ‘backbone’ of native culture

Traditionally, First Nations grandmothers were the ones who passed the teachings down to the younger generation. While mothers worked, grandmothers had the time to teach their grandchildren about life and the ways of the people.
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Grant boosts languages program

A group that actively promotes preservation and advancement of Aboriginal languages in Canada got a $104,995 boost Thursday, thanks to a federal grant announced by Brant MP Phil McColeman.
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Canadian health officials warn against travel to Mexico

A Canadian health agency is warning against travel to Mexico, where there's an outbreak of human swine flu, unless absolutely necessary.
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Boy missing since Thursday

Police are asking for the public's help in locating a 14-year-old boy who was reported missing Friday afternoon.
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Suicide prevention group to tour Nunavut

All Nunavummiut will get a chance to talk about what they want from a proposed new suicide prevention strategy, during a round of community meetings to be held this spring.
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Mother renews plea for help to find missing girls

Laurie Odjick, mother of one of two teen girls missing from the Maniwaki area for almost 8 months, made a renewed plea for help Thursday while announcing that a second co-ordinated search for the girls will take place May 2.
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Ottawa ready to help flooded First Nations: Chuck Strahl

Federal Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said Ottawa is ready to help First Nations communities in Manitoba hit hard by flooding.
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Native health and healing centre expands

An expanded facility on King Street offers promise to help fill major gaps in health care for the local aboriginal population.
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Grieving family wants native health gaps closed

The parents of a six-month-old boy who died last month of meningitis are pushing for a complete overhaul of health care on native reserves.
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Brain Gain: Can exercise help people learn?

It's an exciting idea, and one that's being tested in the U.S. and Canada. One pilot program took place in the spring of 2008, when Saskatoon teacher Allison Cameron put her Grade 8 students on treadmills during class.
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Task force tackles youth suicide

A city-wide Thunder Bay task force created to help prevent youth suicide, officially launched their action plan Monday at St. Patrick's High School.
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Reports highlights suicide crisis in young Inuit men

A new report on Nunavut's most tragic social problem suggests the reasons young people are killing themselves aren't that much different than anywhere else.

It's just that many of the causes are so much more prevalent in Nunavut.

"Virtually no one in this territory has not been touched by suicide," said Natan Obed, one of three authors of the report on what is a debilitating problem in the territory. "That's just what life has become here."

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