Indigenous needs during pandemic demand culturally culturally competent response | Naomi Sayers – The Lawyer’s Daily

March 20, 2020

In May 2019, the final report of the national inquiry into the missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people was leaked to the media. The final report contained 231 calls for justice, which are described as “legal imperatives”. Some of those calls for justice highlight health and wellness, and Indigenous rights, to name a few. The calls for justice are more important now than ever especially as the current novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, spreads to Canada.

One important call for justice is the call to “establish culturally competent and responsive crisis response teams in all communities and regions, to meet the immediate needs of an Indigenous person, family, and/or community after a traumatic event[,] alongside ongoing support.” The call for justice highlights several examples of a traumatic event including murder, accident or a violent event. The call for justice leaves the door open to consider other traumatic events. One such traumatic event is a sudden change in health or social circumstances that impacts a community’s sense of well-being.

Having lived and worked in communities that experienced a range of trauma, including the trauma of floods and oil spills, I understand that these sudden changes mean, more often than not, Indigenous women, girls, youth and two-spirit people are left to fend for themselves. I have seen it and I have lived it firsthand.

Read More: https://www.thelawyersdaily.ca/articles/18259/indigenous-needs-during-pandemic-demand-culturally-competent-response-naomi-sayers