Continuing Care for First Nations Elders

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Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org
May 2011

Working with her home community, Marilyn Buffalo of Samson Cree Nation has seen first hand the lack of services available to the Elders. Now, she has issued an urgent call for help for all First Nations Elders. . .

"We, the First Nations do not have any Continuing Care facilities and proper health care services for Elders and Disabled Persons, on-reserve.
We, remind Prime Minister of Canada Stephan Harper that First Nations are entitled to health facilities and services at same level as Canadians.
We, further request that Prime Minister Stephan Harper direct his Minister of Health and Senior Officials to establish a National Roundtable on Elders Health and Continuing Care."

An Urgent Call for Action
Marilyn Buffalo, Morning Sun Woman
– May 13, 2011

Re: Implementation of UNDRIP on Continuing Care for Elders and Disabled Persons – 10th Session of UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples, May 16 – 27, 2011, United Nations Headquarters, New York.

All my Relations…….
On behalf of our most vulnerable citizens, in all your deliberations, I request that you speak for Rights and Well Being Our Elders and Disabled Persons at UNPFII.

Background

On November 12, 2010, the Government of Canada endorsed the UNDRIP.

Goal
To convene a Roundtable on First Nations Continuing Care.
Vision
Safe, sustainable and culturally appropriate and community-based continuing care facilities and health care services for Elders and Disabled Persons, both on-reserve and off-reserve.
Urgent - Call for Action
We, the First Nations do not have any Continuing Care facilities and proper health care services for Elders and Disabled Persons, on-reserve.
We, remind Prime Minister of Canada Stephan Harper that First Nations are entitled to health facilities and services at same level as Canadians.

We, further request that Prime Minister Stephan Harper direct his Minister of Health and Senior Officials to establish a National Roundtable on Elders Health and Continuing Care.

Gaps and Challenges
The current situation is critical; these social factors call for immediate high level discussions:
Extreme poverty, poor diet and overcrowded housing are major contributors.

First Nation “baby boomers” born from 1946 to 1965 are larges aging population.

Many Elders are residential school survivors and forced to live away from their families.

First nations residing on reserve cannot access provincial continuing care programs..

Federal government programs are either non-existent or inferior to provincially funded services.

Provincial continuing care facilities do not provide culturally appropriate services.
The life expectancy rate is lower due to high incidence of diabetes, addictions, cancers.

UNDRIP Affirm Health Care And Wellbeing Of Indigenous Peoples

It is time to get all governments (federal, provincial and First Nations) to work on Implementation of UNDRIP articles on health and well-being where all parties develop partnership agreements and strategies to design comprehensive policy that recognizes the interdependence between social, economic and political factors in developing healthy individuals, families and communities.

Here is are the relevant UNDRIP articles:

Article 23
Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for exercising their right to development. In particular, indigenous peoples have the right to be actively involved in developing and determining health, housing and other economic and social programmes affecting them and, as far as possible, to administer such programmes through their own institutions.

Article 24
Indigenous peoples have the right to their traditional medicines and to maintain their health practices, including the conservation of their vital medicinal plants, animals and minerals. Indigenous individuals also have the right to access, without any discrimination, to all social and health services.

Indigenous individuals have an equal right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. States shall take the necessary steps with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of this right.

Article 29
States shall take effective measures to ensure, as needed, that programmes for monitoring, maintaining and restoring the health of indigenous peoples, as developed and implemented by the peoples affected by such materials, are duly implemented.

Article 37
Indigenous peoples have the right to the recognition, observance and enforcement of treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements concluded with States or their successors and to have States honour and respect such treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements.

Nothing in this declaration may be interpreted as diminishing or eliminating the rights of indigenous peoples contained in treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements.

Closing Remarks
In honour of our ancestors, please speak for Keepers of our traditional knowledge, wisdom and faith, our Elders and Disabled Persons. Please do not lose sight of this critical issue. Remember, change will happen if we continue to advocate on their behalf and they can live close to their families and contribute to building strong nations.

Thank you very much.
Marilyn Buffalo, Morning Sun Woman
Past – President, Native Women Association of Canada (1997 – 2000).
Email: marilynbuffalo@msn.com Phone: 780-989-2890
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Note to Marilyn Buffalo from Teresa Edwards,
the Director of International Affairs and Human Rights,
the Native Women's Association of Canada

Good Morning,

I am writing to let you know that since your call with Claudette Dumont-Smith, our Executive Director, Claudette has met with Erin Wolski, the Director of Health, and she has been looking into this matter with Health Canada and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, to see what can be done within federal government.

Thank you for preparing the Briefing Note on Elders and Continuing Care.

Please note that as per our AGA Resolution, we, the representatives of NWAC, will make copies and distribute your statement to women leaders from more than 20 countries, whom we will be meeting with today, as well as to the United Nations Permanent Forum Committee on Indigenous Issues (which includes Chief Ed John) and to the Special Rapporteur, to "raise the concerns outlined regarding access to Elder care so as to provide a holistic continuum of comprehensive continuing care services ranging from home support, independent living, assisted living, continuous care to higher levels of care, that are under First Nations control, that have sustainable funding, are flexibility with their program design and are culturally-appropriate and equitable to those accessed by Canadian citizens."

Please also note that NWAC will be participating at the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Geneva in July and we will distribute it there as well, including to Wilton Littlechild, who has recently been appointed to that Committee.

Last week I was in my community and connectivity is always a challenge and Claudette was on annual leave. Yesterday we were frantically working to prepare and left the office at 2 but she did debrief on her meeting with Erin regarding what is happening at the federal level and then we were on travel status. We were only able to set up our internet this morning. Thank you for your patience in this matter. Please ensure that you send all future correspondence to Claudette who will then delegate any other follow-up work that needs to be done.

Although this issue is not on the current agenda for this year, given that it is a review year, having your paper distributed and given to the Committe, can only help to bring attention to this issue and have it be taken into consideration by the Committee when they make their recommendations to Canada. Thank you for all your hardwork.

We will be giving an update at our next AGA on the work that has been carried out by NWAC as per the resolution.

Warm Regards,
Teresa Edwards
TEdwards@nwac.ca
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