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Chiefs of Ontario press release ...
http://www.chiefs-of-ontario.org/news/dec20-06.html

Notice of Ontario Chiefs Forum on Health - December 20, 2006

This is an official Notice to all First Nations in Ontario that the Chiefs Forum on Health will be held at the Delta Chelsea Hotel in Toronto, Ontario on Wednesday, February 28th and Thursday, March 1st, 2007 to commence at 8:30 a.m. each day.

The Chiefs Forum on Health will be formally constituted as a Special Chiefs Assembly (SCA), to permit the passage of binding Resolutions, but only in relation to the health topics discussed at the Chiefs Forum on Health.

The normal Chiefs Assembly Rules of Procedure will apply, with one important modification mandated by Resolution 06/103 (“Quorum for Chiefs in Assembly Gatherings”) passed at the Garden River SCA on November 16, 2006. According to Resolution 06/103, all Chiefs of Ontario Assemblies require “sixty percent (60%) of all membership to be present in order to make decisions on behalf of the region”. The new 60% quorum is required for decision-making by way of Resolution, but is not required for general discussion.

Because of the importance of the Chiefs Forum on Health and the effect of the new quorum rule, all First Nation Chiefs (or Proxies) are respectfully urged to attend in Toronto on February 28 and March 1, 2007.

Further Information will be forthcoming in the New Year.

Lori Jacobs, Executive Director
 
Download Documents

• Health Forum Registration Form
• Health Forum Agenda
• Health Forum Proxy Letter

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CHIEFS FORUM ON HEALTH
February 28 & March 1, 2007
Delta Chelsea, Toronto

DRAFT AGENDA (Dec. 15/06)
DAY I – Wednesday, February 28, 2007 - 8:30 a.m.

1. Registration Call to Order

2. Grand Entry

3. Introduction of Chairperson(s)

4. Welcoming Address
* Chief Bryan LaForme, Mississaugas of New Credit

5. Opening Address
* Ontario Regional Chief (tbc)
* First Nation Inuit Health (tbc)
* Chair, Ontario Chiefs Committee on Health (tbc)

6. Adoption of Rules and Procedure/Draft Agenda
* Chairperson(s)

7. FNIH Budget

8. Upstream Investments
* Panel – Q & A

9. Pandemic Influenza

10. NNADAP

11. Injury Prevention

12. AFN Update

DAY II – Thursday, March 1, 2007 - 8:30 a.m.

1. Registration/Call to Order

2. Opening Prayer - Elder

3. Overview by Chairperson

4. Health Accord

5. Pan-Aboriginal Open Dialogue
* AHWS
* Mental Health

6. Public Health

7. LHINs

8. Closing Prayer – Elder

Resolutions will be dealt with after each issue

First Peoples Child & Family Review 
Volume 3 Number 1 - January 2007

"The latest issue of First Peoples Child & Family Review is now available online. We encourage you to check out our latest articles, as well as our offerings from past issues. If you are interested in contributing to the First Peoples journal, as an author or as a reviewer, information can be found on our website or by contacting the coordinating editor at mbennett@fncfcs.com.. The deadline for the next call for papers is March 31st, 2007."

Excerpts from the Table of Contents of the January 2007 issue:

• Ensuring Knowledge Transmission in the Aboriginal Child Welfare Field
• Keeping First Nations children at home: A few Federal policy changes could make a big difference
• The politics of kith and kin: Observations on the British Columbia government's reaction to the death of Sherry Charlie
• Reflections of a Mi’kmaq social worker on a quarter of a century work in First Nations child welfare
• Promising practice for maintaining identities in First Nation adoption
• Identity lost and found: Lessons from the sixties scoop

Click here to see the latest issue

Table of Contents, Volume 3, Number 1, 2007

4	Foreword Michael Hart
5	Ensuring Knowledge Transmission in the Aboriginal Child Welfare Field Marlyn Bennett
10	Keeping First Nations children at home: A few Federal policy changes could make a big difference Fred Wien, Cindy Blackstock, John Loxley and Nico Trocmé
15	The politics of kith and kin: Observations on the British Columbia government's reaction to the death of Sherry Charlie Gerald Cradock
34	Reflections of a Mi’kmaq social worker on a quarter of a century work in First Nations child welfare Nancy MacDonald and Judy MacDonald
46	Promising practice for maintaining identities in First Nation adoption Jeannine Carriere
65	Identity lost and found: Lessons from the sixties scoop Raven Sinclair
83	Indigenous knowledge and research: The míkiwáhp as a symbol for reclaiming our knowledge and ways of knowing Michael Hart
91	A way of life: Indigenous perspectives on anti oppressive living Robina Thomas and Jacquie Green
105	Here be dragons! Reconciling Indigenous and Western knowledge to improve Aboriginal child welfare Jean Lafrance and Betty Bastien
127	Are rural American Indian adolescents becoming a race of angels? John Courname
133	(A Literature Review) Re-examining issues behind the loss of family and cultural and the impact on Aboriginal youth suicide rates Kristine Morris

Click here to read the following Edmonton Journal story ...

Ont. reserve looks beyond housing, water crises - Deal may be near for improved services at Pikangikum

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press - Published: Monday, January 08, 2007

PIKANGIKUM, Ont. -- Crammed into a ramshackle 700-square-foot house she shares with eight relatives, Juliette Turtle has resigned herself to a life without a decent roof over her head, a toilet or running water.

"I've just learned to accept it because there's no housing," the 58-year-old says through a translator as she sits on her worn beige sofa beneath a leaky window.

A few steps away, one of Turtle's grandchildren lies in what passes for a bedroom -- a space with three mattresses covering almost every bit of the floor. Clothing is hung on hooks or strings on the wall.

Pikangikum First Nation resident Juliette Turtle sits in an overcrowded bedroom Friday as her grandchildren sleep.

Outside is an outhouse the family members share -- a situation faced by almost every family on the Pikangikum reserve, 300 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

When the pit starts to fill with excrement, the Turtles fill it in, dig a new hole nearby, and move their floorless outhouse shack over it.

Also on the property are the gravesites of relatives, including some of the seven children Turtle has lost to suicide.

She's not sure why most of her 12 kids took their own lives, but it's not shocking in a community that has suffered one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

"After all the things I've gone through, I'm hoping my grandchildren don't have to go through the same things," Turtle says.

The community of 2,200 has a litany of problems that start with basic infrastructure.

Half of the 430 homes are falling apart and unfit to live in, yet continue to be occupied. Ninety per cent don't have running water or indoor toilets. Turtle and many other families haul water in jugs from the community's water treatment plant. Some draw water from a lake and boil it to make it safe.

Still, many in the community believe there is hope for the future.

After years of fighting the federal government over funding, a deal may be close at hand to build water and sewer lines, and more housing.

Federal officials and local leaders formed a working group in November to tackle the priority areas, and will meet again this week. Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice has promised swift action.

"We've made significant progress at the table," Prentice said last month. "In the new year, people will see us moving in a very tangible, concrete way."

Community residents are cautiously hopeful.

"This is something we've heard in the past," said Dean Owen, who served as chief for 18 months until last fall.

"There is hope . . . that all these things will start happening."

The band has received money to build about 10 new homes in each of the last several years, Owen said, but it's not enough to keep up with a growing population and the need to replace dilapidated houses.

Work to connect homes to the water treatment plant has been stalled since 2001, when the former Liberal government took over the band's finances. The books were in order, but the government felt the band was not addressing the community's social problems, including its alarming suicide rate.

Last September, a regional medical officer of health based in Kenora said Pikangikum's water troubles were putting residents at risk of developing disease. The town's electrical supply -- a diesel generating station -- is so overtaxed that residents were told not to put up Christmas lights this season.

Still, there are signs that life has begun to improve.

Mick Staruck, principal of Pikangikum's school, said the youth suicide rate peaked in 1999, when a half-dozen kids in his Grade 7 class alone took their own lives.

Over the last two years, only two children in the entire school have ended theirs.

Staruck credits a new wave of dedicated teachers recruited specifically from northern areas, along with new after-school programs and sports that have kept kids engaged and off the streets.

The school has forgone new supplies in order to hire its first guidance counsellor as well as several teaching assistants.

The traditional water routes used by the people from across Nishnawbe Aski Nation for thousands of years are now popular canoe routes for people from around the world. A new canoe route atlas that is a combination of close to 100 years of travel by the two authors is being published in this spring describing this special part of Canada.

Over the past 40 years, Tom Terry travelled thousands of miles by canoe with family, friends, community members and guests through this special part of Canada. Tom and Carol operate a local canoe outfitting operation along with all their other activities.

This region was originally known as the "Little North" by the fur traders who were travelling these routes from the Hudson Bay and the Great Lakes in order to reach central Canada. Thus, the title of the new atlas is simply, "Canoe Atlas of the Little North" by Jonathan Berger and Thomas Terry.

The new atlas is reviewed on the Ottertooth.com web site at http://ottertooth.com/Otter-misc/littlenorth.htm with a link to the publisher’s promotion of the atlas available at http://ottertooth.com/Otter-misc/images/atlasinfo.pdf (1.4M PDF).

Health Canada press release ...

Canada's New Government Invests $3.7M to Establish a Third Wait Times Guarantee: for First Nations Diabetes Care

WINNIPEG, MB, Jan. 5 - The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, today announced that Health Canada is developing an innovative pilot project in partnership with Saint Elizabeth Health Care and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, to establish a wait times guarantee for First Nations people living on reserve in Manitoba who face debilitating infections and possible amputations arising from diabetes.

Diabetes rates are high among Canada's First Nations and they also have a higher rate of complications such as vision loss, kidney damage and foot ulcers leading to amputations. More than 90 per cent of lower limb loss among Manitoba First Nations occurs in those with diabetes. This compares with 10 percent of the general Canadian population. These facts underscore the need to improve First Nations access to diabetes care.

"This wait time guarantee pilot project for First Nations diabetes care will benefit Manitoba First Nations and all Canadians," said Minister Clement. "This third wait time guarantee clearly demonstrates that Canada's New Government is delivering on its promise to make sure that all Canadians receive essential medical treatment within clinically acceptable waiting times."

The project brings expertise from Saint Elizabeth Health Care, a non-profit organization, to work in an innovative partnership with First Nations and the federal government toward an effective solution to this serious problem.

"This pilot project will improve accessibility to treatment for First Nations in Manitoba and should reduce the need for debilitating amputations," said Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Evans.

"This partnership with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs builds on our ongoing work with First Nations. The current gap in health and quality of life between Aboriginal people and other Canadians requires action. With this initiative, we're moving ahead," said Michael Decter, Chair of the Board Saint Elizabeth Health Care.

Shirlee Sharkey, president and CEO of Saint Elizabeth Health Care, added: "We are pleased that the Honourable Tony Clement is supporting innovative approaches to care, understands the importance of training to ensure the successful application of clinical guidelines and we hope to see better wound care and patient outcomes as a result."

This guarantee will test a defined time frame for diabetic foot ulcer care and establish a set of alternative care options, should that time frame be exceeded. Establishing these alternate care options should ultimately lead to certainty, clarity and confidence for Canadians that their health care system will be there for them when they need it.

The goal of the project is to reduce the damage caused by foot ulcers in individuals with diabetes. The key elements of the project will be: the establishment of data collection tools; consultation with patients, health care providers, experts and stakeholders; and reporting on the data collected and the effectiveness of the Patient Wait Times Guarantee.

The eighteen-month pilot project will be implemented in selected First Nations communities in Manitoba in partnership with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. Saint Elizabeth Health Care will work with these communities, Health Canada staff and other health professionals in areas related to training, the transfer of knowledge, and the implementation of changes to improve practices.

The benefits of this project will be numerous:

• an increase in the emotional and physical wellbeing of families and individuals - which keeps people out of the hospitals;
• a decrease in unnecessary transportation;
• savings to the health care system; and
• the knowledge that will be shared throughout our health care system, which will help countless other patients who need wound care.

Saint Elizabeth Health Care is a non-profit charitable organization that is a leader in Canada in identifying gaps, aligning resources, and maximizing resources to the benefit of health care providers and - most importantly - patients. In terms of direct service, they currently make 1.5 million wound care visits per year and have worked closely with Manitoba First Nations to improve health service delivery.

For further information: Media Enquiries: Carole Saindon, Health Canada, (613) 957-1588; Erik Waddell, Office of the Honourable Tony Clement, Federal Minister of Health, (613) 957-0200; Public Enquiries: (613) 957-2991, 1-866 225-0709; Health Canada news releases are available on the Internet at www.healthcanada.gc.ca/media

NAN press release ...

NAN and Kakegamic Family Disappointed with Decision by Chief Coroner to Deny Appeal

THUNDER BAY, ON, Jan. 4 - Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler together with Margaret and Isaac Kakegamic are disappointed with the decision of the Chief Coroner to deny the appeal made for an inquest into the death of Max Kakegamic.

"This is just another example of how the system has failed Max and his family at every level. There seems to be a double standard when it comes to applying these laws on First Nations. There is no consistent application of rules," said Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler who, together with Margaret and Isaac Kakegamic, appealed a previous regional decision to deny an inquest to Chief Coroner Dr. Barry McLellan on March 27, 2006. "This would have been a good case for an inquest."

North Spirit Lake First Nation community member Max Kakegamic was killed on the streets of Kenora October 4, 2000. When the case went to trial January 2004, charges against the only suspect were stayed because of irregularities in the investigation. Kenora Police Services' Lloyd White, Tom Favreau, and Const. Chris Ratchford were cited for police misconduct in the ruling by Superior Court Justice Peter Hambly.

Kenora Police Services confirmed with NAN shortly after the 2004 judgement the investigation into the death of Max Kakegamic was not proceeding.

"We had hoped the appeal would have been approved. We have been waiting for answers for the last six years and we really thought this was going to be our opportunity to get those answers. It's difficult for our family to heal without knowing that justice has been served," said Max's mother Margaret Kakegamic from her home in North Sprit Lake First Nation - one of 49 communities part of NAN.

Among the reasons cited in Chief Coroner Dr. McLellan's letter denying the appeal was that in this case he did not feel a jury would be in a position to make recommendations that would help the avoidance of death in similar circumstances nor did he feel it was desirable for the public to be fully informed of the circumstances of the death through an inquest.

For further information: Kristy Hankila, Communications Assistant, Nishnawbe Aski Nation, (807) 625 4902, (807) 472 9604 (mobile.); Kimberly Murray, Executive Director, Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto, (416) 408-4041 ext 225

Conference announcement and Call for presentations ...

Promising Practices in the North Workshop 2007
with a focus on: 
Behavioural Difficulties and Early Intervention & Screening

Goal: 

The workshop will provide an educational and networking experience for caregivers and professionals who support youth living in northern and rural Canada.

Focus of the Workshop

• Behavioural Difficulties
  Examples:  conduct disorder, aggressive & disruptive behaviour, juvenile offenders, substance abuse, and behaviour management strategies
• Early Intervention  &  Screening
  Examples:  development milestones, small and large motor, nutrition, speech and language,  social development and healthy development

Anticipated Audience
·             Families/caregivers
·             Community service providers
·             Education providers
·             Health care providers
·             Early Childhood Educators
·             Remote, rural and Northern community members

Workshop Date:  March 22 & 23, 2007 at the Valhalla Inn, Thunder Bay. 

Hours:  Thursday 9am to 4pm & Friday 9am to 3:30 pm

Workshop Displays/Posters:

Vendors and service providers will be invited to have a display or poster presentation.  Please complete page 2 to register (see attached).  

How to submit your proposal (deadline January 22, 2007).

1. Complete page 2 (see attached) and submit via fax or mail to the contact information listed below.   
2. Please attach a 150-300 word summary of your presentation to this application.

Videoconferencing:  It is our goal to have the workshop sessions presented to remote and northern communities through video conference and online (webcast) technologies which will archive sessions to be available for viewing at any time.   Currently, our team is negotiating to have  videoconferencing available for the first time.  Details will follow.

Presentations should:

1. Provide access to evidence-based information.
2. Promote culturally appropriate theories, models, and strategies. 
3. Reduce isolation by increasing networks of rural, remote and northern resources. 
4. Educate the audience about interventions that can be immediately implemented.
5. Initiate dialogue and exploration about the unique needs of families in the North.

Please contact Jodi with further questions.

Jodi Kurzhals, Site Coordinator
Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs
Learning and Communication
955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, ON  P7B 5E1
Phone:  807.343.8196
Fax:  807.346.7956
Email: jodi.kurzhals@lakeheadu.ca
Website:  www.lcnorth.ca  and www.coespecialneeds.ca

Eabametoong Fort Hope Ladies Broomball Tournament

January 25-28 2007

@ Joseph Jacob Nate Memorial Arena Eabametoong First Nation.

Entry Fee $1000.00 requiring 50 % deposit or in full prior to schedule inclusion
deadline16th of January 2007

Maximum 16 Teams

Open-Status not required, Imports allowed

For more information call 1-807-242-7295 or leave a brief message with the Tournament's hosts e-mail addresses eabametoongforthopebraves@knet.ca or eabametoongtournaments@knet.ca

OPEN to Ladies Broomball Teams and to Bingo Players Everywhere!

3rd Annual Ladies Broomball Tournament

Pickle Lake Arena

February 16-18, 2006

Entry Fee $1500.00

1st Place    $8000.00

2nd Place  $2500.00

3rd Place  $1500.00

Prizes Based on 8 teams.    100% payout.

Contact Michael Bottle (807)928-2490/ 2837

Destani Skunk   (807)928-2881

10th Annual Thomas Ash Memorial Hockey Tournament

Pickle Lake Arena

February 9-11, 2007

Entry Fee $1500.00

1st Place $8000.00

2nd Place $2500.00

3rd Place $1500.00

For more information contact
Michael Bottle (807)928-2490/2837