First Nations health authority to launch in Manitoba this year: Southern Chiefs' Organization
Traditional healing methods noted as priority in agreement between SCO, provincial and federal governments
Three years after taking the first steps toward transforming health care delivery for the people it represents, the Southern Chiefs' Organization is on the verge of establishing its own health authority in Manitoba.
In a joint news release on Friday, the SCO, along with the provincial and federal governments, announced Manitoba has committed to developing an agreement-in-principle to formalize the commitment of all three parties to a working relationship.
In a Friday news release, SCO Grand Chief called the agreement historic, saying it is the next step in closing the 11-year gap in life expectancy between First Nations people and other Manitobans.
The tripartite table, led by the Southern Chiefs' Organization, will result in the formation of a "holistic, trauma-informed Anishinaabe and Dakota health-care system," the release said.
Culturally competent primary care, improved access to mental health services, enhanced services for grandmothers and grandfathers, access to traditional healing methods, and local community access to health care have all been identified as priorities.
No dates were provided as to when the agreement-in-principal will be completed or when the new health authority might launch.
Manitoba Health Minister Audrey Gordon called the initiative a "monumental task," but said in the release the province is pleased to work with the SCO and the federal government on establishing a health-care model focused on Indigenous-led and community-based health care.
The Southern Chiefs' Organization, which represents 34 First Nations and more than 81,500 people in southern Manitoba, said the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately impacted First Nations, showed how well the organization can represent the health of its people.
Daniels said throughout the pandemic, the SCO responded to longstanding inequality in health care through advocacy, partnership and leading the delivery of services.
That included co-ordinating vaccine and rapid antigen test rollout, and funding for personal protective equipment, Friday's news release said.
In 2019, the SCO chiefs-in-summit passed a resolution supporting the health transformation process, called Exercising our Treaty and Inherent Right to Health.
In June 2020, the organization signed a memorandum of understanding with the federal government to work together to transform the health-care system for southern First Nations.
That was followed by an SCO resolution passed in 2021 to support a transformation action plan to fulfil First Nation priorities for an agreement-in-principle.
First Nations leadership in health-care delivery leads to improved outcomes, federal Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu said in the release.
The new agreement is a step toward improving health care access for Indigenous people, she said.