Each week, the Indigenous Health department highlights good news stories from the North and from across the country.
National Nutrition Month: Food is Medicine
March is National Nutrition Month! The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) is encouraging people to connect and join registered dieticians Rachel Dickens and Fiona Devereaux as they showcase Indigenous recipes in their cooking show Food is Medicine. Rachel is from the Lax Kw’alaams First Nation in Prince Rupert and Fiona is a White settler of Irish descent. Watch them cook Indigenous recipes and traditional foods gathered from the lands featured in each episode. Food is Medicine showcases cultural and culinary teaching with the support of community members and guests.
Learn more about National Nutrition Month and watch all four Food is Medicine episodes on FNHA’s website.
‘Good Relationships’ supports communities Impacted by 2021 flooding
In November 2021, sudden and unexpected flooding overwhelmed BC’s Interior causing numerous First Nations communities to evacuate. First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) set up Emergency Support Service centers to help community members through this difficult time. People from Merritt and several communities in the Nlaka’pamux Nation were placed on alert with some evacuated to Kamloops, Kelowna and other parts of the Interior.
Despite the severity of the situation, local companies and organizations were quick to assist. Telus and Save-On-Foods worked with FNHA to help families’ access services to food, and other necessities including providing masks.
FNHA's Regional Manager for health emergency management in the Interior, Londea Riffel, attributed this support that was received to “good relationships” built up over many years. “These organizations connected with me asking if there's anything they can do," she said.
Read full details on FNHA’s website.
Eskasoni woman rediscovered love of basket weaving following cancer diagnosis
Lynn Battiste from the Eskasoni Nation say that a battle with cancer helped her rediscover her “passion” for traditional basket weaving. Battiste, a fourth-generation basket weaver, learned this skill from her mother and great-grandmother when she was six years old. Lynn noted that as she got older she had less interest in the craft but after her cancer diagnosis realized how important weaving was in her life.
"I went through eight rounds of [chemotherapy] — it nearly killed me. But I think it was the start of basket making that made me want to live.… It was the baskets that caught my soul," she said. "When I began to start making baskets, I realized that I have my ancestors with me while I'm creating. I could feel them. Every basket has its own life because the wood is alive, right? It decides what it wants to be, so that's how I began. And that's how I continue today." Lynn has shared her craft with her three children and also teaches traditional basket weaving to school aged children in her community.
Read more about Lynn’s story from CBC Nova Scotia.
New grad requirement ensures students expand their knowledge about Indigenous perspectives, histories, and cultures
The Province of British Columbia announced new graduation requirements will be implemented to the K-12 education system. The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNSC) is implementing new graduation requirements to ensure all secondary students complete Indigenous-focused coursework before they graduate.
The new requirements are expected to take effect in the 2023-24 school year.
“We are deeply committed to lasting and meaningful reconciliation in B.C. – guided by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples while working co-operatively with Indigenous Peoples across the province to address the knowledge gaps in our K-12 curriculum,” said Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Education.” This new requirement will deepen students’ understanding of the experiences, cultures, histories and knowledge of Indigenous Peoples. This will help us to understand the truths of our shared history, while also building knowledge so all students feel a sense of responsibility for our collective future.”
Read the full new release on the Government of BC website.
Rekindling Our Spirits
Registration is now open for the Rekindling Our Spirits, A Day of Indigenous Health and Wellness conference sponsored in part by First Nations Health Authority.
The full-day virtual event will be offered on March 25, 2022 and will feature Indigenous Elders, leaders, healers, and artists as they provide insight, knowledge, and inspiration for all seeking hope for the future especially those individuals and care givers that have been impacted by serious illness, grief and loss.
Learn more about the conference and register today.