Each week, the Indigenous Health department highlights good news stories from the North and from across the country.
Graduates complete Indigenous Pre-Cadet Training Program in Regina
On July 15, 2022, 29 candidates graduated from the RCMP’s Indigenous Pre-Cadet Training Program (IPTP) at the RCMP Academy in Regina Saskatchewan. This was the first three-week session for First Nations, Inuit and Métis aged 19-29 at the Academy since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“It’s probably one of the best feelings I have ever felt,” said Kila Pigeon, a participant from Kamloops, British Columbia on graduation day. “I’m so proud of all my troop mates and how far everyone has come over the past three weeks, and how far I have come as an individual.”
“Having the opportunity to run the program that brought me into the RCMP is an honour and a privilege,” said Cpl. Maureen Greyeyes-Brant, who is the national coordinator of the IPTP and who works with the RCMP Indigenous Collaboration, Co-Development, and Accountability unit in Ottawa.
Learn more and read the full article on the CBC News website.
Gwich’in Accord expected to be signed at week-long gathering in Old Crow, Yukon
Gwich’in people from the Yukon, North West Territories and Alaska are meeting in Old Crow, Yukon at the biennial Gwich’in Gathering.
Vuntut Gwitchin Chief Dana Tizya-Tramm states that the Gwich’in week-long gathering to sign the Accord will be transformative for his Nation and will help coordinate efforts across the Gwich’in Nation on a range of issues, including health and wellness, and salmon and climate change.
As one example, the Gwich’in Nation has been fighting to protect caribou habitat for years. Tizya-Tramm and other Gwich’in leaders stated that if they allowed oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, it would devastate caribou and amount to “cultural genocide.”
Learn more and read the full story on the CBC News website.
Federal funding to support joint Indigenous cultural safety initiative in health systems
Indigenous Services Canada is providing a $1-million grant to the National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health (NCCIH) and the Health Arts Research Centre (HARC), both housed at UNBC, for the Hearts-based Education and Anticolonial Learning (HEAL) health care project. The HEAL project supports health care professionals to address anti-Indigenous racism, practice in anti-oppressive ways and foster cultural humility.
HEAL is a joint initiative between the NCCIH and HARC that is focused on the training and education of health care students and professionals “to create better health outcomes for Indigenous people.”
"The initiative takes a strength-based approach and creates a safe learning environment for all. The goal is to realize transformation and change in the health care system that supports everyone’s optimal health and well-being,” said Dr. Margo Greenwood, Academic Leader, NCCIH.
To learn more visit the UNBC website.