“The whole idea is to have the Cree Nation Government, the Cree Health Board and local communities working in collaboration to address health and wellbeing,” said Rodney Mark, the CNG director of social and culture development. “It’s a cooperation to make things more community designed and led.”

The meeting builds on the agreement signed last September between the CNG, Cree health and school boards, and all communities to support Community Miyupimaatisiiun Committees. A consensus-making process is now determining shared responsibilities to guide their operations. 

A similar gathering of Miyupimaatisiiun Committees last year helped establish action plans for implementing each community’s top priorities, which health board chairperson Bertie Wapachee said, “paves the way for a more holistic, grassroots, cross-entity approach to health and healing in our communities.” 

CBHSSJB executive director Daniel St-Amour noted that “80% of what contributes to good health happens at the community level where the Miyupimaatisiiun Committees play a critical role in coordinating care among local partners.” 

The meeting was a response to needs expressed by the committees: support for establishing local roles and bylaws, information about regional strategic planning and funding sources, and facilitating networks. Presentations from public health and the Eeyou Eenou Police Force helped clarify various issues.

“We’d like to facilitate getting the communities to work together in addressing health and social issues at the same time,” explained Mark. “It’s getting people to know one another so they know who to contact. If something happens regarding domestic violence, everyone will know where to go at the local level, with the police and support network.”

Over the three days, team-building workshops identified objectives, and offered training in data analysis, budgeting and partnership management. Committees developed and presented action plans on the third day with best practices shared by the more advanced groups. 

“Some committees like Waswanipi are pretty active,” said Judy Nakogee, who organized the event. “They’re exciting to see. We want to have a gathering like that yearly to network and see what the other communities are working on.”

Nakogee works closely with Mark to determine what committees need and help them take the next steps. As some committees are less clear on their precise roles within the regional strategy, the gathering was an opportunity to respond to these challenges. 

“We want to work towards standardizing all of them to have the same process,” Nakogee said. “Miyupimaatisiiun should have one vision, one mission, but different goals for their community. They’re all a bit different – different bylaws, some are appointed to sit there, some are voted in.”

One priority is to get committee chairpersons and directors of social development to form working relationships and understand which CHB personnel to contact for specific resources. The health board is emphasizing prevention, intervention and post-intervention programming.

“The Cree Health Board wants to play an active role in the prevention programming,” said Mark. “Through the Miyupimaatisiiun Committees, we also want to do a lot of post-intervention, follow-up after. Those are key things moving toward healthier communities.” 

Mark said this new approach is still in its infancy and will likely take five years to achieve consistent programming. 

“How do we maneuver all the social or health issues affecting our communities?” asked Mark. “Where do you start? We can’t deal with everything all at once, so we have to deal with it in a very strategic way. It’s a long route but the dividends in the long run will help everyone involved.”

Enhancing communication enables a more proactive approach to addressing major issues like diabetes, which will be discussed at the CNG meeting on March 20, and emerging threats like cyberstalking and the photoshopping of inappropriate pictures of Cree women and girls. 

For instance, there are concerns about sexual harassment in the workplace and creating safe spaces within communities. Community Chiefs and police departments provide regular updates about local developments, relevant statistics and potential solutions. 

Committees are expected to continue annual gatherings until the healthcare system’s transition is firmly established. In the meantime, meetings are scheduled via Teams with committee chairpersons and directors of social development. 

“I think we’ll continue getting everyone together just to get a sense of how everybody’s progressing and how they’re working,” said Mark. “We should all be working together as the Cree Nation to address these issues because they’re affecting us all. To have a healthy community it takes a community.”

“If you can get people to go out and exercise in the wintertime, it’s more than likely they’ll exercise in the summertime too,” said Wally Rabbitskin, the planning, programming and research officer (PPRO) of physical activity in regional public health. “It’s not necessarily sports – it can be just having fun in the snow with your children.”

Rabbitskin’s department provides funding for communities to start their own programs and participation prizes like t-shirts or tuques. His radio announcements regularly promote physical activity for developing a happier lifestyle, building self-esteem and achieving your goals. 

“Over the years, there are a lot more people exercising,” Rabbitskin said. “The more we promote physical activity, the more people will think about it and get out there. You’ll be in a better mood, sleep better and socialize with people doing the activities.”

Rabbitskin suggested fun activities with friends or family members to benefit physical and mental health while setting a positive example for others in the process. Some communities promote intergenerational participation through winter carnivals and challenges, inviting families to do activities with their children at school with healthy meals provided.

As walking becomes increasingly popular, new trails have opened in different communities, sometimes with lights for safety. Mistissini plows its track and field area and organizes a weekly walk to Murray’s Lodge about eight kilometres away, every Saturday from January to late March. 

“There’s a trail on the side of the road and another on the ice with security to monitor their safety,” explained local programs administrator Simon Metabie. “People can use their snowshoes or skis. We serve a light lunch, and they socialize.”

The walk draws between 10 and 30 participants, depending on the weather, and serves to prepare those interested in joining the annual Journey of Wellness. This year, four men are on the holistic healing journey intended to help people overcome personal issues through traditional Cree pursuits on the land. 

Halfway through this journey, the men will join women around km 590 on Route 167 North near the Otish Mountains and walk to the community where a feast and entertainment will be waiting. The group’s return is a highlight of Mistissini’s culture and wellness weeks March 11-22. 

A variety of workshops and activities will be held over these two weeks. Learning opportunities include working with crooked knives, making traditional baby rattles, sewing, Elder abuse awareness and a local Cree language conference. There will also be sliding on Tommy Hill, bingo and Cree hymn nights.  

Waskaganish is hosting a regional land-based program March 4-15 at MacLean’s Camp, called “Wiichihiisuu-Help Yourself.” Leveraging the healing power of the land and supported by the residential school fund, the initiative intends to help participants overcome residential school trauma and substance abuse problems through cultural teachings, sharing circles and one-on-one counselling. 

“During those two weeks, every second day we’ll have an outdoor activity – hunting, ice-fishing, snowshoe walks,” said Jamie Stevens, who works for the Wiichihiiwewin Centre. “We do a lot of cultural-based programs, anything that can help with mental health. People who struggle with their mental health need to do some kind of physical activity.”

Wiichihiiwewin programming has been so successful that they’re increasingly asked to collaborate with other organizations and facilitate workshops in different communities. For mental health week at the end of March, they will organize traditional activities for elementary school students, including outdoor cooking, games and a snowshoe race.

In February, the Wiichihiiwewin Centre started a snowshoe walking club that plans to meet every Saturday at 1:30pm until the snow melts. With funding from Healthy Horizons, the initiative has drawn participants aged six months to 73 for treks across the river and forest trails.  

“It helps people, especially non-Native people in the community, connect with others in Waskaganish,” said Stevens. “They feel safer in a group. It helps them relieve stress. We have extra snowshoes for people who don’t have them.”

The club has proven to be such a valuable social outlet that people meet for indoor activities when it’s too rainy to snowshoe. Its logo is “Let’s Fight Diabetes,” which is promoted through exercise, fresh air and healthy snacks.

The Wiichihiiwewin Centre hosts a steady stream of events throughout the year, from art journaling and beading workshops to summer camps. Last August, they held a four-day event called the Sharing Cree Culture and Traditional Festival where community members could go from station to station, participating in traditional carving and tool making, paddle making and cooking workshops.   

With so many athletic activities organized by each community’s youth and recreation departments, there are no shortage of options for staying active all year. Besides the always popular hockey and broomball leagues, volleyball is seeing growing interest in some communities.

“Sports are extremely important,” Deandra Spencer Tebiscon, captain of Chisasibi’s girls team told CBC. “It helps the kids get together and helps them go outside their comfort zone. They get to travel to different places – we’re all kind of just a big family.”

While winter activities across Eeyou Istchee continue to expand, uncertain ice conditions caused by climate change are increasingly impacting snowmobile and walking journeys. Citing recent mild weather, the Cree Nation Youth Council (CNYC) decided to cancel its Regional Winter Journey planned March 18-29.

This journey would have brought together 60 to 80 youth, including guests from other First Nations and Inuit youth organizations, for a snowshoe walk from Eastmain to Chisasibi to nurture cultural exchange and network building. The CNYC board of directors will determine whether to hold their Regional Winter Journey next year or to have a Regional Canoe Brigade this summer.

Organized by First Nations and Inuit Suicide Prevention Association of Quebec (FNISPAQ), the event attracted Indigenous peoples from across eastern Canada. Delegates acknowledged that the years of quarantine have exacerbated feelings of disconnection. In the wake of the Covid pandemic, frontline workers are confronting a mental health crisis. 

Stephanie Iancy Héroux Brazeau has been attending conferences for years as a volunteer; this year, she came as a powwow dancer. Iancy Héroux Brazeau noted that dance can have a medicinal effect, particularly as a means to release emotions. She found the powwow to be a useful tool to process the suicides that have occurred in her Anishinaabe community of Lac-Simon. 

During a workshop, Iancy Héroux Brazeau claimed that culture is key to suicide prevention. “I think it’s key to return to our roots, to who we are, to be proud of who we are, to return to our ways of life that have been erased,” she said.

The Dialogue for Life activities also included healing ceremonies. Cree mother Vivianne Snowboy led the Cedar Bath ceremony. She said that as a young girl, she learned about the transformative potential of ceremonies from her father. 

Snowboy also hosted a workshop about advocating for Indigenous people within the justice system. She stated that the current system worsens the mental health of Indigenous people, and needs to “take a step back.” She promotes “restorative justice” in place of existing punitive conventions.

Marc Lafontaine hosted a workshop about trying to help men open up about their feelings. “My challenge is to get people, men especially, used to expressing themselves,” said Lafontaine, an Innu from Ekuanitshit. “Because ‘men don’t cry.’ But, that’s not true. A man is ‘strong, doesn’t talk’… but he needs to express himself.” 

Lafontaine pointed out that traditional land-based activities can be helpful to such men. “They’re more positive, happier, they talk more, make jokes, it changes,” he noted, concluding that a change in environment can result in an shift of outlook.

Connor Lafortune, a queer Anishinabe man, shared a life-promotion toolkit he’s produced with a group of Indigenous youths. He claimed that in the western world, Indigenous people are often exposed to “deficit language.” Narratives about the community could switch to a “strength base” instead. Lafortune’s toolkit gives advice to community workers on how to help young people value and accept themselves.

Lafortune says that addressing negative self-image is vital to life promotion; a more proactive strategy than just suicide prevention. 

“Suicide prevention is really something that is on the ground, it is taking folks out of the water just before they drown. It’s often the only option we have in communities,” he claimed. “However, life promotion really takes a step back, keeps folks grounded and rooted into the earth, and it’s not even letting them seek the water in the first place.” 

Another conference will take place in March 2024, with a focus on identities and youth engagement.

The complaint, delivered this summer, outlined the sequence of events that led to Sonia’s current living situation. Following her stroke in 2020, Sonia was medevaced to Montreal and received hospital care for four months. Upon her return to Chisasibi, her boyfriend’s house had been boarded up, rendering her homeless. Cree Patient Services assured Petawabano that they would provide lodging for Sonia.

However, he contends, Sonia was placed in a residence that did not meet her needs. The living conditions became a source of discomfort for Sonia due to the presence of alcohol and drugs.

Petawabano expressed his dissatisfaction with the Home and Community Care Program’s decision to place his daughter in this residence, describing it as unprofessional with staff who lacked proper training.

In addition, Sonia was promised an apartment suitable for a handicapped individual with her two children. In 2020, the Home and Community Care Program allocated four apartment dwellings for their clients; however, Sonia was not included in this program. Petawabano said the decision reflected a belief by the Cree Health Board that they could act above the law in health-related matters within Chisasibi.

Petawabano emphasized that Sonia was made to feel like an outsider and that there was a communication breakdown with the Cree Health Board. He highlighted that Sonia had slipped into depression due to unfulfilled promises.

At press time of writing this article, Petawabano said that they had been promised an apartment but were still waiting.

The complaint listed several issues, including neglect, violation of human rights, and what  Petawabano perceived as Cree prejudice against his daughter, despite her status as a member of the Cree Nation of Chisasibi. 

The Cree Health Board has yet to release an official statement in response to the complaint.

However, when Fire Chief Larry Sockabasin of Tobique First Nation, New Brunswick, looked over the courses offered, he opted for Resilient Minds, which focuses on building the psychological strength of Indigenous First Responders. 

“Mental health goes undetected in our department. I’ve seen firefighters hurting and they didn’t tell me about it until we were off the job. I want to do something more to help,” he said.

Sockabasin has been a volunteer firefighter for 11 years and fire chief for the past five years for the Maliseet community of Tobique. He has already reached out to his band council to have the Resilient Minds workshop shared with his firefighters. 

Sockabasin appreciated the workshop’s effort to reflect Indigenous values. “I’m not a classroom person, but they made the material very relatable. I also liked that they talked about sweats and spiritual sides of healing,” he said. 

The course was led by 20-year firefighter Steve Fraser, who currently works with the Vancouver Fire Department. Fraser is a fierce advocate of mental health for firefighters, which is why he helped to create Resilient Minds. The program strives to help firefighters recognize the effects of psychological stress and trauma, and to communicate with people who are struggling. Fraser shared personal stories of suffering and trauma that resonated with the firefighters in the room. More importantly, he explained how to recognize signs of trauma in a fire team.

Billy Moffat, the Fire Chief of Kawawachikamach, Quebec, admits he comes from a generation not raised attuned to their emotions. The 62-year-old was surprised by his interest in the course and his own self-realization of a need for self-care. 

“I was kind of skeptical at first. But after about an hour in, I said, ‘I can relate to this’. I’ve been policing for 42 years and 25 years as a firefighter and I’ve seen every kind of tragedy. And now it doesn’t bother me. And I realized during the course, ‘holy shit’ that’s me with all this trauma. And it’s time for me to work on self-care. Not wait for retirement.”

Moffat plans to bring the mental health training course to the police, game wardens and firefighters in Kawawachikamach. However, he would like the course to reflect the Naskapi culture.

Alexis Beer, a coordinator with Resilient Minds, says they are ready to address this concern. He says their plan is to consult with communities before offering the two-day course. “The intent is for the instructor to learn about the community and find what traditions or cultural components they’d like to incorporate into the program. This includes things such as a blessing from an Elder, a smudge to start the course or a ceremonial fire, sweat or meal.” 

Indigenous people across Canada are five times more likely to die in a fire compared to the rest of the population. That number increases to over 10 times for First Nations people living on reserve.

Waswanipi Fire Chief Darren Saganash says he would like to bring the course to his fire team but wants to make sure the instructors understand the realities of a firefighter on a reserve versus an urban setting. 

“You’re going to get a call and the person you’re responding to could be your cousin or your father or mother,” Saganash related. “We know everybody. It’s a small community and 100% of the time you’re going to know the person and that makes it even more difficult as a firefighter.”

Saganash described a recent call during which he performed CPR on a fellow firefighter. “We tried to revive him but were unsuccessful and he passed away. He was a member of our fire team. It was very difficult for all of us. It’s something that we will probably never get through.” 

If your community would like Resilient Minds to hold a workshop, contact Alexis Beer at alexis@firstresponderhealth.ca or 604-798-5122.

Labrador tea is a remedy long used by Indigenous peoples to treat a range of ailments, but a smaller shrub producing a particularly aromatic brew is only found in harsher subarctic environments near Whapmagoostui. Its chemical composition and potential antimicrobial applications were relatively unstudied the recently published findings in the ACS Omega scientific journal.

“The dwarf Labrador tea is very much used in our community every day,” said Joshua Kawapit, Whapmagoostui’s communications officer. “When I get sick, that’s the first medicine I’ll resort to as a form of detox. We wanted to know its properties and if it can cure other things we don’t know of.”

Université Laval chemist Normand Voyer, who has developed a relationship with Kawapit and other community members over several years, proposed the research study to help validate the importance of local medicinal plants. People in Whapmagoostui and neighbouring Kuujjuarapik wanted to understand whether the dwarf Labrador tea might become toxic or less effective with higher usage.

“They were interested to see the variability of the medicinal composition,” Voyer told the Nation. “We said that’s a cool idea. If that can show the rest of the world that Nunavik is an amazing place filled with molecular treasures, that would be my small contribution to showing the importance of respecting the land and communities living on that land.”

Believing Northern Quebec to be “an amazing scientific playground” with a unique ecosystem, Voyer said he intends to devote the rest of his career to demonstrating this value at the molecular level. By revealing hidden treasures in Nunavik tundra or Huron-Wendat forests, he hopes to support land-conservation efforts. 

The Centre for Northern Studies at Université Laval has research stations across northern Quebec. Kawapit noted that scientists may ask communities for permission to conduct field work but rarely share their results. When consulting with the band council in 2019, Voyer promised to present his team’s work with the community first. 

“We have an amazing relationship with the Whapmagoostui First Nation and are really indebted they’re trusting us,” said Voyer. “It’s a privilege, honestly, to discuss nation-to-nation. We’re in direct contact with traditional knowledge keepers and healers. We’re also working on a small booklet that could be used to talk about traditional medicine in schools.” 

Voyer’s team extracted essential oil from leaves gathered in Nunavik, eventually identifying 53 compounds through gas chromatography, mass spectrometry and flame ionization detection. Results showed that ascaridole in the oil was the primary component acting against malaria-causing parasites. 

The molecule ascaridole is found in different plants around the world, including one used by Indigenous communities in Mexico for its anti-parasitic properties. While malaria is a mosquito-borne disease that kills nearly a million people primarily in tropical regions every year, it shares certain properties with other types of parasites.

“It demonstrates the impact some of these natural medicines can have around the globe,” Voyer explained. “When you eat raw meat, you can get several different parasites. Indigenous communities know how to take care of themselves with medicine to treat parasites that enter their food chain – another lesson we’re learning from traditional knowledge.”

While the study’s results suggest that molecules from dwarf Labrador tea could be extracted and reproduced in the lab to develop a malaria treatment, Voyer emphasized he has no interest in patenting or profiting from this research. However, he supports potential commercial applications initiated by the Cree Nation if it so chooses. 

“If the World Health Organization synthesizes that to develop a medicine, they would have to sign agreements with the Cree Nation to recognize their contribution,” said Voyer. “There is absolutely no idea for harvesting these plants to save the Africans from malaria. We’re trying to show nature is providing us clues to treat malaria with natural substances.”

The study’s results, which emphasized protecting rapidly changing northern ecosystems, were presented to the Whapmagoostui council last year. The community is interested in documenting the impacts of invasive shrubbery that can prevent sunlight from reaching lower plants and lichens. 

“We’re working with a dwarf birch tree that’s progressing north very rapidly,” explained Voyer. “Nothing is known about this shrub. We’re trying to find out if there’s anything useful that could be transferred to the Cree and Inuit so they could potentially harvest it and develop a local economy.”

Research on dwarf Labrador tea is likely to continue further north, collecting samples in different seasons to determine the chemical composition’s variability, which can significantly influence its medicinal properties. While essential oil is easier to study, the team now wants to follow local recipes with community members to document how the herbal tea is traditionally prepared, analyzing its chemistry to support tradition knowledge. 

Past studies conducted with the Cree Nation have shown regular Labrador tea extracts to effectively treat symptoms associated with diabetes. It’s been used to counteract all types of pain, including respiratory, digestive and kidney problems, rheumatism, scurvy, easing labour and purifying blood. However, some sources suggest concentrated doses could be toxic.

Voyer looks forward to resuming his research and recounted fond memories of playing baseball with summer students and local children. As the principal organizer of the Quebec Indigenous Science Fair in March, he was impressed by presentations from budding scientists from Chisasibi and Mistissini. 

Kawapit believes the collaboration is inspiring more of his community’s youth to consider science careers. Asserting that the pharmaceutical industry caused substantial loss of traditional medicine practices, he said he’s not surprised this study is confirming health benefits found in local plants.

“There’s certain knowledge our Elders possess that was never really written,” said Kawapit. “Other people may now start to understand our knowledge is as valuable as the scientific community. We can validate everything we’ve been saying all along.”

_{by Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter}

When the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a public health emergency in January 2020, the Cree Health Board (CHB) began to prepare for infection prevention protocols. By the time the WHO declared it a pandemic on March 11, 2020, the CHB was already coordinating response groups to ensure Cree communities were prepared for the advancing pandemic. 

This is the story of how that response unfolded. The Nation talked to key leaders within the health board to look back at the past three years and how the CHB, Cree Nation Government, individual Cree communities, entities and individuals all shaped a generally successful pandemic response – and what lessons were learned.

After it became apparent that Covid was spreading around the globe, the CHB determined that its communities were at high risk because of their isolated locations, limited health resources and infrastructure, overcrowded housing, and their high proportions of people with chronic health issues. There was also a need for accurate information – how the virus was transmitted, how it could be prevented, and how to communicate this to the public. 

Bella Petawabano, then-Chairperson of the CHB, remembers clearly the moment the pandemic was declared, followed shortly by Quebec’s declaration of a state of emergency. “I was in Chisasibi, we finished our board meeting and had a presentation on the pandemic by the director of public health,” she recalled. 

“I called Grand Chief Abel Bosum, and I asked him what right do the Cree have within the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, and what legal capacity do we have to respond to the pandemic? What can our Cree governance do for us?” she asked. 

Petawabano and Bosum did a livestream briefing for the first time to address the population, introducing ideas like social distancing, masking and hand hygiene that would become mainstays for the coming years. 

“That’s the only thing we knew about how to protect people at the time,” she said. “There was no manual or protocol to follow in the event of this type of pandemic.”

During this first phase, the CNG, health board, school board, and Cree Nation Council began to meet three times a week and began to issue communiqués. Petawabano also started doing radio broadcasts. “What was important was a good and continuous communication with the population,” she explained. 

It was decided to set up strict travel measures, including community gates and coordination with public safety officers, in addition to contact tracing and testing. “We weren’t following what the province was doing,” Petawabano said. “We were doing more.”

One measure limited the number of patients sent south for medical appointments. All commercial flights were cancelled, and the CHB only used charter flights for patients and to bring in supplies, and eventually vaccines. 

While Quebec eased restrictions in May 2020, the Cree communities implemented mandatory self-isolation for anyone travelling to areas at risk. The CNG also adopted a deconfinement plan, looking forward to when restrictions could be loosened as cases declined. 

By December 2020, Canada approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and ordered deliveries the same month. Petawabano said that months of discussions with Quebec allowed Eeyou Istchee to receive the vaccines ahead of other regions, owing to its heightened vulnerabilities. 

It was after November that Petawabano’s term as Chairperson ended, and Bertie Wapachee took over the role. Looking back at the pandemic response, she said they heard feedback that more cultural values could have been integrated into their response. 

“We tried to do that, but things were moving so quickly, you have to move along with the train,” she said. One of the initiatives they were happy to support was pushing people to return to the land, where they would be better protected from transmission. Some communities even offered subsidies to residents who stayed at their camps. 

Petawabano is confident the CHB is now more prepared for future health emergencies. “One of the lessons learned is how we all came together: the CNG, the Cree Nation Council, all the different entities like the CHB and Cree School Board,” she said.

“We had one common goal, and that was to protect Eeyou Istchee. That’s one big lesson – that we can unite and be successful in achieving our goal.”

In February 2020, Dr. Colleen Fuller felt she was watching from the sidelines, having just been hired to replace another public health physician. “I called the public health director – I wasn’t supposed to come in for a month – saying I think I need to come earlier. She replied, how early can you come?” Fuller said with a laugh. 

Her role involved leading much of the health board’s Covid response. Fuller’s background included using data methods to understand aggregate health outcomes, a focus on infectious diseases and understanding how outbreaks have been controlled.

At the beginning, this meant integrating the quickly evolving science of the virus into everyday practice. “That led to giving and putting into place a certain recommendation one week, then five days later finding new evidence needing to be integrated and adapted,” she explained.

Early recommendations came from the SARS outbreak in 2003, when hospitals enforced masking and isolation. Still, they had to train staff to properly wear masks and conduct contact-tracing investigations. 

Community clinics needed infrastructure upgrades to improve ventilation and implement “red” and “green” zones, with Covid cases isolated to avoid infecting those who needed other medical interventions. Telemedicine was introduced, allowing consultations by telephone and video calls. 

Still, there were challenges, particularly when it came to government regulations that restricted people without specific qualifications from doing testing. “In Eeyou Istchee, it’s not the local reality that we’d have these types of professionals available. But some people who were able to train and intervene were first responders who don’t necessarily have the same credentials as in the south,” Fuller explained. 

They also had to push the Quebec government to adapt their vaccine program to local realities. While the province wanted to allocate vaccines by age group, Cree health officials urged the government to allow broader vaccinations, owing to intergenerational households, and the limited resources and staff available to conduction the program. 

Within Eeyou Istchee, Fuller was encouraged by how all levels of officials took the pandemic seriously. “I was very impressed with the willingness of people to come together and listen; to set aside politics – this agency does this or that – but to listen to each other and adapt and revise, to look at needs that might be unanticipated by some agencies.”

She is also confident that Eeyou Istchee is in a better place today to respond as a society – from how to do testing, to how infections spread, to hygiene measures. 

Fuller encouraged people to continue getting booster vaccinations, as the virus is still circulating. “The waves aren’t peaking and chopping like they were in the past. Think of it as a river and bay being violently out of control, but it’s now just fast moving. It’s still dangerous, even if not as visible. It’s still not time to go swimming – Covid is still there,” she implored. 

Jason Coonishish, Coordinator of Pre-Hospital and Emergency Measures for the CHB, remembered the first days of closely following the WHO’s recommendations, while also studying the plans put forward by New Zealand, Australia and Quebec.

The priority at the time was to set up protocols to follow and to organize departments to ensure that essential services could continue. This also meant working with public safety officers (PSOs) to carry out enforcement of community-protection measures.

These measures ensured the CHB knew when people left and returned to the communities, and where and with whom they travelled. All this to help conduct contact tracing and enforce isolation measures. “We were in a good position because we were isolated, so we could protect points of entries,” Coonishish explained.  

The officers had to resist pressure coming from political leaders to reveal information about infection status. “That’s the hard part the PSOs have – that’s their bosses – but they still maintained that confidentiality,” he added. 

He said this built trust being between doctors and the PSOs, and among all frontline workers, including nurses, police and ambulance drivers. Coonishish was proud of the work by all the frontline workers. “Hats off to all of them for their sacrifices to protect our communities.”

Still, there were challenges. Coonishish said the hardest part were measures surrounding funerals, which prohibited open coffins and enforcing social distancing. “It was sad for the family – they didn’t see the body. I’m sure they’re still dealing with grief from that,” he added.

Coonishish praised the vaccine rollout. “Each clinic did very well, they were all ready for it. They had vaccinations. We also did well with the first two boosters,” he said. 

One episode that stuck out was that, after vaccines arrived in Mistissini, there was an outbreak in Ouje-Bougoumou. Authorities in Mistissini gave half of their vaccines to Ouje-Bougoumou to ensure Elders and the immunocompromised could be protected. 

“I’m happy with the work that was done by all the communities and all the frontlines,” Coonishish emphasized.

Unreported until now, Petawabano revealed that she received the Excellence in Health Leadership Award from the First Nations Health Managers Association in November 2020. More recently, she was honoured with a governance award by the Canadian Red Cross, on whose board of directors she sat from 2018 until 2022. 

“I was surprised. I didn’t expect to receive an award like that. I was very honoured,” she said. “It’s one thing to be recognized in your own community for your contributions, but it’s another thing to be recognized at a national level. I’ll keep this award close to my heart.”

The Red Cross supports communities in times of disaster, including floods, earthquakes, fires, and most recently, during the pandemic. The organization works with sister agencies across the globe, making up what it calls the largest humanitarian network in the world with organizations in 192 countries. 

Petawabano said the Red Cross wanted to invite an Indigenous person onto their board of directors. Someone recommended she be invited, owing to her position as CHB chair. 

During its national general assembly, Petawabano worked with Dr. Darlene Kitty and former Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine to deliver a presentation on cultural safety. “I was proud and privileged to have that experience, to be part of the board of directors,” she said. 

She said the organization ensured Indigenous protocols were followed when going into Indigenous communities, such as when they responded to the 2015 Fort McMurray wildfire, which impacted several nearby First Nations. 

“They’re very mindful of making sure they’re involving the First Nations in the work they do. They don’t just go in and do what they think is best,” she explained. “They have them involved from beginning to end.”

Petawbano said that it reinforced the work she and the health board were already undertaking. In 2018, the CHB visited emergency response units near Toronto that were designed for use in remote areas to coordinate medical, logistical and communications responses. 

The CHB purchased two of the units and 600 cots from the Red Cross, to increase response capacity during wildfires and flooding in Cree communities. They help keep evacuees in Eeyou Istchee rather than sending them to places like Val-d’Or. Petawabano said the pandemic was not on anybody’s mind at the time. 

“What we wanted to do was keep people in Eeyou Istchee so if ever that happened, we wanted to be able to have a mobile-hospital type of setting we can set up in another community and have people from the other community impacted by whatever disaster, along with the medical staff of their clinic,” she explained.

However, after Covid struck, the CHB deployed the emergency response units to the Chisasibi hospital. Petawabano said it was the only time the units were deployed so far. 

The Red Cross was present in remote Indigenous communities across Canada, delivering supplies, testing and conducting vaccinations. But Petawabano said Cree communities did not meet the level of need, thanks to the response of health authorities. That’s the reason Petawabano received the other award back in 2020.

“The Cree Health Board started working on this in January [of 2020], looking at how we can respond with our resources, knowing the state and wellbeing of the Cree Nation. But it wasn’t until mid-March that we all got together with the Cree Nation Government to talk about what we were going to do,” she said.

As a result of the actions taken by Cree authorities at all levels, the communities were less affected by the pandemic than elsewhere. 

Petawabano said she didn’t feel right about boasting about the award while the pandemic was ongoing, however. The award ceremony was also very low-key – a zoom presentation online. 

“I had to do my acceptance of the award by video, which I did and I just sent it in. So, I sat in my living room and I watched it by myself,” she said with a laugh. 

The CHB launched the Iiyuu Ahtaawin Miyupimaatisiiun (“being alive well”) Planning initiative in 2013 to seek community-identified solutions across Eeyou Istchee. Local Miyupimaatisiiun committees consulted members on all aspects related to a broad definition of health. 

From 2016 through 2020, CHB staff and McGill University-affiliated researchers interviewed 22 of the committee members to gather their feedback and evaluate their projects, challenges and accomplishments. 

Participants say the interviews were based on healing from residential school trauma, revitalizing Cree culture, and decolonizing health systems and policies. 

The anonymous members shared that healing from residential school trauma was a long-term journey and that it was important to create spaces for collective healing. They noted that many people didn’t begin to share until the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, and it was important to foster more sharing between generations, particularly between parents and their children. 

Some felt it was important to recognize that there are both traditional and religious people recovering, requiring a recognition of the spiritual diversity needed to deal with trauma. 

In terms of revitalizing Cree culture, it was felt that prioritizing the Cree language was of utmost importance. Participants identified the need to bring back “Cree traditional practices, teaching rites, as well as skills, knowledge, values, and language, into everyday community life.”

Land-based activities such as hunting, trapping, snaring, fishing, cutting wood, building tents and healthy diets were seen as a key to returning to these therapeutic traditions. Many had experienced a disconnect from their own culture in their lives and acknowledged embarrassment in having to relearn these traditions as an adult.

To build a sense of pride, they identified dancing, drumming, and traditional rites surrounding birthing and aging – such as the walking-out ceremony – as being effective. Traditional arts and crafts, such as beading, snowshoe making or moose cleaning, were also highlighted. 

Committee members explained that contemporary institutional policies, programs and bureaucracies limit Cree values and beliefs. Instead, they want to see health policies and programs designed by Cree communities and Cree decision-makers. Elder-care, abuse prevention, youth protection, school programming and health education were identified as priorities. 

Jeremiah Mianscum is the Coordinator of Community Development under the Nishiiyuu Miyupimaatisiiun department of the CHB. His department works closely with individual communities and the Cree Nation Government to reactivate local committees that had almost stopped functioning during the pandemic. 

He says there has been high staff turnover since his appointment in 2019, and that there’s still some confusion about who is running the committees, since they were convened by both the CHB and local band offices. 

Mianscum’s office is hosting a meeting in Montreal February 21-23 to reactivate the committees and understand the supports they need, the issues they’re facing, and how they can be better organized.

“We’re helping them with action plans, terms of reference, anything that can help them achieve their priorities to keep the committees going,” Mianscum explained. 

He said most communities have an active committee with a renewed resolution from chief and council. They had their first meeting as a group in July and Mianscum said there was a lot of enthusiasm and momentum to implement changes that the committees have identified. 

Committees are made up of community members with backgrounds in social work, social development, and from fire and youth departments, among others. Mianscum said that if people are interested in joining their local committee, they can contact their local committee chair or the CHB. 

Mianscum said the main challenge isn’t a question of funding but rather of collaboration. 

“We’re going to need input from committees at a grassroots level to ensure that we’re supporting the population in terms of health and with land-based stuff. Once we have this symposium, we’ll have more of an understanding of what we can do,” he said. 

While some communities may feel that they don’t have sufficient funding, Mianscum observed, they may simply be unaware of sources that would allow them to implement their initiatives. Other communities may need different forms of support, which his department is hoping to identify in February. 

Mianscum is inviting chiefs and councils to attend the symposium to add political weight to the initiative. 

“We really want to work with them and with the CNG as well,” he insisted. “We’ll be sending out invitations shortly, hoping to have a dialogue with committees and establishing working-together strategies.”

Organized by Mistissini Sports and Recreation, the event featured individual races across different age categories on Day One, while Day Two featured team relays involving swimming, cycling and running in the youth categories, while adding canoeing and portage challenges in the 16+ categories. 

At least 23 participants competed in the individual events, while 16 teams of 60 participants competed on Day Two. Laurie Mathieu won the women’s competitive 16+ race, while Dave Jobin came in first for the men’s, each taking home a prize of $1,500. 

In the women’s 16+ relay, Team Miranda took home first, comprised of Audreanne Bouchard, Joannie Guilemette, Shayna Dominique, Trisha Gunner and Laurie Mathieu. In first for men’s was Team Go Habs Go, comprised of Caleb Awashish, Dave Jobin, Silas Neeposh, Louie Mianscum and Wally Rabbitskin. Both teams took home a prize of $2,000.

“It was a success this year,” said organizer Helen Gunner, the Sports and Recreation Interim Coordinator. She said participation was a struggle compared to last year, but in the end, they got more participants than last year.

While the event is open to anyone, and some competitors came from Chibougamau, Gunner said she would like to see the entire Cree Nation get involved. “It would be nice to have other communities hosting these events because it promotes health and keeps youth off the streets,” she said.

The event is one of the biggest that the Sports and Recreation department puts on, giving out over $33,000 in cash prizes, plus additional spending on trophies and souvenirs. 

To encourage more participation, this year the organizers removed the requirement that at least two participants or teams competing in a category to assign a winner. “We don’t want to close the door on them especially if they prepare all summer for it, so we’re trying to make it reasonable with the athletes,” Gunner said.

Four of Mistissini’s first responders staffed an ambulance, going out with a lifeguard in a boat on the lake, and escorted the competitors through town. “We enjoy being part of it as well when we’re asked to work during that time – it’s for the safety of participants,” said First Responder Coordinator Mary Mattawashish.

Mattawashish said they see people becoming interested in becoming first responders after these kinds of events, which involves an application, background check, followed by an eight-day training. While they haven’t held many trainings during the pandemic, they’re starting to come back now. 

Louie Mianscum has been racing since the late 1990s, and now works in the Sports and Recreation department as a minor sports assistant. This year he helped to train athletes, while also competing – coming in third place in the men’s competitive category.

Mianscum said he got hooked on being active and training for races. “I used to be over 300 pounds before I started training. Just going up the stairs was hard work, or staying outside on a hot day,” he said. “I didn’t like that. Now I’m enjoying life because I’m active again.

“I used to be a good runner, but now I don’t have a lot of strength. I guess you can say I’m average on all five events,” he added with a laugh. “I like the part of just being active, training for races. You start to feel the effects of training – it helps you in your daily life and you sleep better. You almost feel like you can do anything.”

Mianscum prepared athletes for cycling by helping them know what they would confront on the course and helped others who weren’t as strong with canoeing. “Some of them are good at swimming, others good at running. It takes more than a year to really prepare for the competitive category,” he added. 

He’s also inspired by the athletic abilities of community members. “I’m really happy to see the outcome, especially seeing new athletes,” he said. “Sometimes it’s hard to get motivated, especially after the last few years and what’s happened with the pandemic.”

Still, Mianscum is encouraged to see new swimming pools open in Cree communities, since it can be hard to train in the cold lakes and rivers scattered across Eeyou Istchee. 

“I’ll be there next year as a 50-year-old, if anyone wants to challenge me!”

_{by Ben Powless, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter}