The Aboriginal Newspaper of British
Columbia & Yukon
Top News - November - 2003
Published November 10, 2003
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Add cultural component in palliative care
Water drops, bills mount
Ktunaxa strikes gas-forestry accord
This is only a partial listing of the stories featured in the November 2003 issue of Raven's Eye. If you are not receiving your own copy of Raven's Eye, then you have missed out on a lot.Click here for Raven's Eye subscription information.
Add cultural component in palliative careYvonne Irene Gladue, Raven's Eye Writer, Prince George
At the Prince George Civic Centre on Oct. 7 and 8, more than 200 health professionals and volunteers from northern British Columbia gathered to learn about palliative care. The conference sponsored by Northern Health touched on such topics as Building Teams to Support Palliative Caregivers; How to best Deal With Death and Dying in Hospitals; and Better Communication Among Teams of Care Givers.
Sarah Hein, Carrier-Sekani Family Services' Home Care Co-ordinator attended the conference along with two other home care workers. She said they got a lot of excellent material and information about palliative care and that the Northern Health Authority put on a really good conference based on its theme of Communication, Caring and Community. She said that it was done professionally, but it would have been more beneficial if the conference had added a cultural component to it. For example, a workshop on how Aboriginal people deal with dying and saying goodbye to their loved ones.
The knowledge they acquired was unique and specific to people who are in their end stages of life, said Hein, but she added, "I'm not being negative, but I want to emphasize there is a lack of cultural emphasis in the hospitals, such as cultural norms and Aboriginal culture. I'm not saying that just Aboriginal people have different protocols, but other ethnic groups have them as well, and we do have a heavy population of First Nations people in this area-particularly of the Carrier Sekani territory," she said.
Hein also believes that First Nations should have a palliative care program or team that would teach First Nations protocols. She said that palliative care is presently available on the reserves, but reacts to need only when it arises, and is based on a one-on-one home care setting.
"Under the Carrier-Sekani Family Services, we service health care needs for 10 communities in this area, and there are 10 bands with each band having their own chief and CHRs.
"We have our own cultural beliefs we call a clan system, and within our territory the clan system is extremely important to each person and the community, especially during the end stages of life. The clans show support to the family members and their friends in the community. We also have our own spirituality, which is really strong within our own culture. We have our own do's and don'ts when someone dies in our community." she said.
"For example, a lot of the mainstream health workers do not understand why a whole group of Aboriginal people gather in the room when a community member is dying, and that is where our cultural differences come in. A lot of Aboriginal people come from large families and that is how we show support. This is why I truly, truly believe that all hospitals should have a cultural room where we can gather when someone is dying. When I was working in the hospital I used to instruct the nurses of the importance and the values of our beliefs, that this is the way we give support to the family and friends, that this is the way the clan system works," she said.
Hein believes that mainstream society needs to be educated on how Aboriginal people deal with death.
"Another example is hair being really important to the Elders. To them it is really, really sacred at the end stages of their lives that not just anyone touch their hair. Usually they give permission of who can touch or braid their hair during their final hour. A lot of our people have no choice; they sometimes die in the hospitals, and a lot of time the health care professionals do not know how to respond to Aboriginal people and their culture. They just treat everyone the same, but ... we are different," she said.
"This conference is going to be held every two years, and it will interesting if we can have a cultural component in the next one. For example, maybe one of our First Nations' group can do a presentation specifically to Palliative Care for First Nations and Aboriginal people, such as bringing in our cultural norms and explaining them," Sarah Hein said.
Hein has been in the health profession since 1966. She started out as a licensed practical nurse, took her registered nurse's training in 1980, and graduated in 1981. She is now in the process of obtaining her degree. "I am just a few credits away from getting my bachelor's of nursing, so I keep plugging away, I never stop. I love my job and I will never trade it for anything else. I just wish and hope that there were more First Nations nurses, Aboriginal nurses all throughout Canada ... I encourage more and more Aboriginal people to go into training," she said.
Margaret Jones, Northern Health Manager of Community Services and a co-organizer of the conference, said the conference was a huge success, that they were expecting about 150 people but 235 attended. She said the Northern Health Authority is in the process of developing a plan for palliative care and she said that they would be recognizing the need to be sensitive to Aboriginal cultural practices in that.
"We will be working with representatives from First Nations communities, including the Native liaison worker, a member of the Prince George Palliative Group," she said.
Joan Taillon, Raven's Eye Writer, Mount Currie Indian Band
The Lillooet River's waters have receded, but Mount Currie Indian Band located north of Pemberton has been left struggling to cope after a week-long flood destroyed land, livestock and many homes on the reserve.
Now, more than 300 evacuated residents of the First Nation urgently need repairs to their homes before winter sets in.
In addition, band members lost the hay they need to feed livestock over the winter: 303 round bales and 3,822 square bales. Replacing it will cost $25,000, but that cost is not covered by the Provincial Emergency Program.
Major storm systems meeting up over the Coast Mountains resulted in record heavy rains and fast-rising rivers throughout the valley. Widespread flooding resulted along the Sea to Sky highway in Pemberton, Squamish and Mount Currie from Oct. 17 to 24.
Fortunately, all band members are accounted for, but locally two people died and two people are missing and presumed drowned as a result of highway and rail bridge collapses over Rutherford Creek on the Whistler-Pemberton highway. It was almost a week before Ministry of Transportation officials put in a temporary bridge to Pemberton.
Early damage estimates were in the range of $20 to $30 million. Although Defence Minister John McCallum and Premier Gordon Campbell toured the flood-ravaged region by helicopter Oct. 25 to assess the situation, it is not known how much money to aid recovery will be coming, or how soon.
"Many people will receive compensation from the provincial Disaster Financial Assistance program," said Chief Leonard Andrew, "but the program only funds partial amounts of the total loss value, and there is real concern that many of our people's needs will fall through the cracks."
The scope of the destruction on this prime agricultural land is huge. Losses include livestock, family pets, vegetable crops, frozen fish and other meats, and the entire smoked and canned winter food stockpile of many residents.
Sheldon Tetreault, senior administrator for the band, said that 30 to 40 homes received the most serious damage. Most people are back at home ripping out insulation and drywall, tearing up flooring and disinfecting the premises, but some homes are beyond repair.
"Animal waste and chemical waste are a worry," he said.
Sewage contamination from septic tanks that rose when the water did, and swamped septic fields, mean little or nothing is salvageable in some places.
Water damage has rendered many houses and out-buildings, as well as vehicles, a total write-off. Electrical equipment, appliances, furniture, clothing and other household goods are gone.
Tetreault said the provincial emergency relief process takes two to six weeks, but the province, INAC and private insurers will all be involved, so it could be a long wait for compensation to reach victims.
One catch to receiving compensation, said Sheldon Tetreault, is that their cows, horses and gardens are only covered by insurance if the primary income is from farming. "One family lost 33 of 35 cattle," he said, but won't be compensated. Many people are in a similar position; they had made a substantial investment in farming or gardening, but worked at something outside of agriculture as their principle occupation.
A bank account has been established at Scotiabank to receive donations for this hard-hit community. The account name is 2003 Mount Currie Flood Relief and the account number is 90670-002-021-4329.
Search, Rescue and Emergency Response units from Pemberton, Squamish, Lions Bay and Whistler, along with the Mennonite Disaster Service, Canadian Red Cross Salvation Army and the Provincial Emergency Program responded to the immediate needs of 800 evacuees during the flood.
Ktunaxa strikes gas-forestry accordTroy Hunter, Raven's Eye Writer, Cranbrook
On Oct. 4, Robert Nault, minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, and Geoff Plant, attorney general and minister responsible for treaty negotiations of British Columbia, announced joint funding of more than $1 million for the Ktunaxa Kinbasket Tribal Council's (KKTC) forestry and coal bed methane economic development projects. The announcement was made at the Delta St. Eugene Mission Resort, recently built on the site of a former residential school.
Vic Clement, a member of the St. Mary's Band and the resource protection manager for the KKTC, told Raven's Eye, "There are two economic measure agreements in place with the Ministry of Mines and the Ministry of Forests; they are for us to pursue coal bed methane exploration as well as forestry-related activities."
The coal bed methane exploration project will be done in partnership with EnCana, an enterprise worth more than $30 billion, and one of the world's leading independent oil and gas companies. The area that the KKTC and EnCana will be looking at is next to existing coal fields in the Elk Valley. There are already 15 drill sites planned north of Elkford. Clement said, "The exploration is way out in a part of the territory that nobody goes, because it is adjacent to coal fields which have already been mined."
"Through the partnership with Encana, we are looking at economic development activities such as Aboriginal-owned companies with their own drill rigs, and there is no reason why those entrepreneurs couldn't also be using their equipment for such things as on-reserve water wells," said Clement.
Gary Merkel is a member of the Tahltan Nation who is employed by the Ktunaxa Kinbasket Treaty Council. Merkel said, "This is potentially worth billions and billions of dollars."
A key planned outcome of the forestry project, the community forest pilot agreement, will provide the KKTC with five-year tenure of approximately 6,000 cubic metres of wood per year. KKTC administrator Kathryn Teneese said, "While the licence will be relatively small, it will give us tenure and a foothold in the forest economy of southeastern B.C. On a very fundamental level, the various components of these economic development projects are a first small step toward increasing our human and technical capacity, which is so critical for everything we do."
Nault said, "I am encouraged by the dedication the Ktunaxa Kinbasket Tribal Council shows its members through engaging in partnerships, resulting in new opportunities and business developments."
These opportunities could include research and development in oilsands, offshore exploration, and coal bed methane."
At the same time obstacles to development remain in the form of outstanding treaty and land claim issues and high taxes.
The province is contributing $586,000 and Canada is contributing $548,378 to the two projects over a three-year period. Expected outcomes for the projects include two or more partnerships; three or more new businesses established; and the creation of 19 new full-time and up to 60 part-time jobs.
The provincial government's treaty negotiations office manages the $40 million economic measures fund. It creates new opportunities for First Nations' participation in the economy, including activities related to oil and gas, shellfish aquaculture, tourism, forestry and the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Funds are available for B.C. First Nations inside and outside the treaty process. To date, $25 million has been approved for 113 projects.