First Nations upset with snub at H1N1 conference

[Tonka]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2009/09/02/mb-first-nation-swne-flu-manitoba.html

First Nations upset with snub at H1N1 conference
Last Updated: Wednesday, September 2, 2009 | 1:56 PM CT Comments28Recommend12CBC News
Manitoba Grand Chief Ron Evans believes traditional aboriginal medicine and Western medicine can work together to protect people from a swine flu pandemic. (CBC)Swine flu hit First Nations in Manitoba especially hard in the spring and leaders are upset they weren't initially invited to an international conference in Winnipeg this week.

"We gotta be sitting at those tables, not being excluded. Decisions are being made behind closed doors, without First Nations input," said David Harper, chief of the Garden Hill First Nation, one of the Manitoba communities that struggled with swine flu, also known as the H1N1 influenza A virus.

Medical experts from across Canada and around the world are gathering in Winnipeg on Wednesday and Thursday for a conference on preparation for the resurgence of H1N1 in the fall.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said the pandemic conference is the first of its kind. She said delegates will review possible outcomes of the epidemic, and develop standardized guidelines for medical personnel in rural communities and hospital intensive care units.

Derek Woods says tea made with yarrow and other herbs and plants helps fight flu symptoms like fevers and headaches. (CBC)A number of First Nations leaders are attending, from both the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and Assembly of First Nations, but only after a last-minute invitation was extended.

Canada's chief public health officer David Butler-Jones said the conference will play a key role in determining many of Canada's H1N1 guidelines for the fall flu season.

"The conference ? will bring together information from around the world and our experience in Canada to guide a whole range of things: everything from what's the most effective treatments of this [to] what have we learned for who is greatest at risk for this?" he said.

Traditional aboriginal healers like Derek Woods, from Dakota Tipi First Nation, want to share their knowledge of natural flu medicines and say it should be part of the solution.

Woods said yarrow combined with other herbs and plants and made into tea helps fight flu symptoms like fevers and headaches.

"It's there, and it comes from the Creator, and he always puts that medicine there. Everything is here to heal us," he said.

"Doctors, they help the body get better, which brings the spirit back. It works both ways. I welcome Western medicine. It does work. I've seen people get better that way. And I've seen people get better this way."

Team effort
First Nations leaders say fighting the H1N1 virus has to be a team effort.

"The information that we gather [at the conference], I think, will help our traditional healers. We can pass on that information and see perhaps how we can work together in seeking the kind of remedy we're looking for at this time," said Ron Evans, head of the AMC.

Grand Chief Sydney Garrioch of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), an organization representing most First Nations communities in northern Manitoba, said he's disappointed by the lack of information flowing to First Nations around pandemic planning.

He said as far as he knows, there are no concrete plans for how vaccines will be administered in northern aboriginal communities.

"There is no partnership [with the federal government]. There is no development of the organized system that everyone is part of," he said, noting that only two of 30 communities in his northern territory have a plan for dealing with the swine flu pandemic.

"So we still feel outside. We feel that we are excluded from that system."

Public health officials say an H1N1 vaccine will be available by mid-November and they're confident that will be enough time to protect every Canadian who wants it.

Until then, Woods said he'll be sure to have enough of his traditional remedy for everyone in his community.

 

[Tonka]

Re: First Nations want to be first in line for vaccine

Re: First Nations want to be first in line for vaccine

http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/First+Nations+want+first+line+vaccine/1956772/story.html

First Nations want to be first in line for vaccine

Aboriginals most affected so far; key is mobilizing communities: expert

By Elise Stolte, Edmonton JournalSeptember 3, 2009 9:28 AMComments (4)
StoryPhotos ( 1 )

A nurse from the Swine flu Vaccination Alpha Team (SVAT) injects a test H1N1 vaccine at the University Hospital of Antwerp, August 10, 2009. Belgian research centres have joined the race to find a successful H1N1 vaccine and are testing the latest batch from a Swiss pharmaceutical company before the autumnPhotograph by: Francois Lenoir, ReutersThe 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.

About 30 people living on reserves in Alberta have contracted the virus so far, but stories of outbreaks on reserves in Manitoba have people here on edge, and many expect the flu to hit the communities hard in the fall.

First Nations leaders in Eastern Canada advocated for their communities to be prioritized when the vaccine becomes available, since aboriginal people have so far been more seriously affected.

But whether the communities get the vaccine in week one or two is not going to matter as much as how well the chiefs and leaders can mobilize their communities when it comes, Herman Wierenga, regional director with First Nations and Inuit Health, told the chiefs Wednesday.

Residents, especially the young, need to get the shots, likely in two instalments.

"Those youth aren't exactly used to getting a flu shot. We can't lasso them in there," he said.

Chiefs and councils from across Alberta gathered in Edmonton this week to elect a new regional chief for the national Assembly of First Nations. They discussed H1N1 preparedness and passed a series of resolutions before an all-candidates forum. The election is scheduled for today.

Health Canada has been working with each First Nation to develop emergency and pandemic plans for the past several years, although many need to be updated.

"This isn't just about a health issue," Wierenga said. "It's how do you maintain essential services."

If the manager of the water treatment centre, teachers or those who clear the roads get sick, "who are your backup people for your essential services?"

On the positive side, he said, last week 32 First Nations participated in a video-conferenced workshop on H1N1 preparedness. The technology to keep updated is in place, Wierenga said.

"We're in very good shape as far as connectivity."

Rose Laboucan, chief of Driftpile First Nation, said she still needs to be assured the federal and provincial governments are communicating so her people can count on getting beds at local hospitals.

Her community is busy updating its emergency plans, but she already knows the five vans the band owns to take residents without transportation to doctors visits would quickly be overwhelmed.

The last elders who helped bury the dead during the last pandemic, the Spanish flu, have long since passed on.

But the mass grave just outside the townsite is still a clear reminder of how serious the flu can be.

"The federal government is saying we're ready, we're prepared, but no one has any idea of what the magnitude of H1N1 is going to be. No one can ever be prepared for the unknown," she said.

"Let's say 60 per cent of my population was infected. How can you accommodate that?There's no way to be prepared."

Eddy Makokis, chief of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation and grand chief of Treaty 6, said he was recently assured jurisdictional issues won't stop the vaccine from getting to the reserves, which was a relief.

"We're trying to educate the membership. Make sure they wash their hands, cough into their arms," he said, but he knows containment will be a problem where most homes have between eight and 16 residents.

The band is still trying to plan how to ensure residents keep themselves quarantined when necessary, and who will bring them food and water. He still doesn't know how members will react to the vaccine, since they've had low turnouts for flu immunization campaigns in the past.

"But I think there's a scare," he said. "There'll be a bigger turnout for this one."

estolte@thejournal.canwest.com