COVID-19 & Indigenous Communities
Information and Resources
Yellowhead will be updating this page with resources that may be helpful for Indigenous communities to prepare for and address the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
These resources may be Policy Briefs, infographics, and toolkits. The Page may also include reflections on the impacts of the pandemic and include audio, video, or art.
If you would like to submit a proposal for a policy brief, research, or any other type of content, please consider checking our Call for Collaboration or emailing us at info@yellowheadinstitute.org with your idea.
“Medicine” by Michael Alexander
August 17, 2020 | Special Report
A CULTURE OF EXPLOITATION: “RECONCILIATION” AND THE INSTITUTIONS OF CANADIAN ART
Though the 2017 “reconciliation year” (otherwise known as “Canada 150”) brought increased Indigenous representation into Canada’s art institutions, this Special Report by Lindsay Nixon reveals how financial pressures resulting from COVID-19 have exposed art institutional priorities and “accomplishments” (or the lack of them) in the intervening years.
June 19, 2020 | Brief
CAN WE ACHIEVE CLIMATE ACTION AND RECONCILIATION IN A POST-COVID WORLD?
It is becoming clearer that COVID-19, and future pandemics, are tied to climate change. How can we prevent that impending reality? This Brief imagines our current moment as transformational for climate policy, our notions of economic development, and reconciliation.
May 12, 2020 | Brief
COLONIALISM OF THE CURVE: INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES & BAD COVID DATA
Indigenous communities have kept the cases of Covid-19 relatively low. Yet research by Yellowhead reveals that the numbers are nearly triple those reported by Indigenous Services Canada. This data discrepancy is rooted in a public health system that excludes Indigenous people.
May 1, 2020 | Call
INDIGENOUS CLIMATE ACTION & YELLOWHEAD INSTITUTE: A CALL FOR COLLABORATION
ICA and Yellowhead believe there are intersections between COVID19 and climate change. What insights are we learning about what is possible during crisis? Could these lessons be applied to climate change as well? Submit a proposal exploring this intersection!
April 29, 2020 | Policy Brief
COVID-19 DID NOT CAUSE FOOD INSECURITY IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES BUT IT WILL MAKE IT WORSE
Operating alongside the many challenges of COVID-19 is food insecurity, which has long been a significant problem in many Indigenous communities. Few of the current emergency measures that have been enacted by the federal government will substantively address this long term and ongoing problem.
April 7, 2020 | Community Support
SUPPORT FOR EABAMETOONG FIRST NATION
Learn more about how you can support a Toronto-based donation drive for Eabametoong First Nation.
March 31, 2020 | Policy Brief
COVID-19 AND INUIT NUNANGAT:
RESEARCH, RESPONSIBILITY & INFRASTRUCTURE INEQUALITY
Jessica Penney and Patricia Johnson-Castle
This brief considers the importance of research and Northern research responses to the pandemic, but also some infrastructure challenges that must be addressed to ensure the health and well-being of Inuit.
March 30, 2020 | Factsheet
HIGHLIGHTS FROM A COVID-19 FIRESIDE CHAT WITH INDIGENOUS HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
Here, we share highlights from a webinar held on Saturday, March 21 by Indigenous Climate Action and Idle No More, on Indigenous Health Practitioners for Indigenous health planners working on the ground addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
June 16, 2020 | Special Report
COVID-19, THE NUMBERED TREATIES & THE POLITICS OF LIFE
Authors Gina Starblanket and Dallas Hunt consider how healthcare is represented in the Numbered Treaty discussions at the time of treaty-making and into the present, illustrating contrasting visions of our collective relationship and the consequences.
May 12, 2020 | Podcast
A PODCAST COLLABORATION WITH HEARTBERRY
Join Shanna Peltier and Yotakahron Jonathan for an episode of the Heartberry Podcast where they discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on their communities (Wikwemikong First Nation and Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, respectively) and on themselves, personally.
May 08, 2020 | Video
DEMOCRACY DIALOGUES: FIRST NATIONS’ CRISIS RESPONSE BEFORE, DURING & AFTER COVID-19
Watch a recording of the May 5 online discussion featuring Yellowhead team members, Eva Jewell, Damien Lee and Hayden King who discussed the unique challenges COVID-19 has layered onto First Nations, and the responses of elected and inherent leaders to protect and uplift their communities.
April 25, 2020 | Animated Video
ANISHINAABE PANDEMIC PROPHECIES
Isaac Murdoch, along with Travis Porter and Fallon Simard worked together to draw, animate and edit this message about Anishinaabe prophecy, knowledge and experience with pandemics.
April 9, 2020 | Policy Brief
NO SUCH THING AS NATURAL DISASTERS:
INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE FIRST NATION FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19
This Brief examines the recent commitments from the federal government in relation to the existing information about infrastructure deficits in First Nations. Specifically, how do physical distancing/isolation requirements align with housing, water, and health services needs in First Nations?
April 1, 2020 | Scan
COVID-19 IN COMMUNITY:
HOW ARE FIRST NATIONS RESPONDING?
This brief offers an overview of some of the ways Indigenous communities are preparing and caring for their community members.
March 16, 2020 | Policy Brief
COVID-19 AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES:
FAMILY CONVERSATIONS
As the covid-19 pandemic evolves, Dr. Alika Lafontaine offers clear and simple advice for Indigenous families on what to do, what to look out for and how we can be mindful of each other during this time of uncertainty.
“Flowers lead the medicine people to the roots, the bark and seeds, it is here where healing medicine is found. In the old days, the medicine people would communicate with their other through messages contained in secret, passing along cultural knowledge in their work under the brutal gaze of settlers who did their best to strip the people of our way of life.
When I think of the resilience that’s required to get through this time, I think we all see that the natural world offers teachings on how to thrive.”
– Michael Alexander, Artist, ‘Medicine’
