SNIWWOC will be unpacking the findings and implications of Mary-Ellen Turpel-Lafond’s recent report ‘In Plain Sight: Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in B.C. Health Care’. This review will be followed by talks from our guest speakers and a Q&A session at our virtual event on Thursday 15th April at 6pm PDT.
Our exceptional guest speakers, Elder Rose Henry, Indigenous Elder & Social Worker Beryl Parke, and SNIWWOC staff Miranda Shannon will be discussing ways of protecting ourselves as patients when we experience racism from healthcare workers.
As the report confirms, Indigenous-specific racism in healthcare is neither a rare nor a dwindling issue; it is, rather, ongoing reality of settler colonialism, stemming directly from Canada’s history of segregated hospitals, medical experimentation on Indigenous peoples, and discriminatory policies.
This event is an opportunity to continue the discussion of colonial violence in spaces designated for care in the 21st century. Women are disproportionately impacted by racism in the healthcare system makes it all the more vital to gather, listen, and learn how best to protect ourselves and our communities.
It is also, crucially, a chance to recenter our understandings and definitions of healthcare in ways that encompass community, culture, and identity. Moving forward, how can our networks of support nurture healthcare practices grounded in dignity, sovereignty, and justice for future generations?
Elder Rose Henry: Elder & Board Member of SNIWWOC
Elder Rose is originally from Tla’amin Nation and has resided in Victoria for over 30 years.
She has served on multiple board of directors for public community service agencies like Together Against Poverty, The Victoria Native Friendship Centre, Vancouver Island Human Rights Coalition and the Capital Region Race Relations.
She has recently won the Intercultural Trust Award from the BC government’s Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Awards.
Elder Beryl Parke: Elder & Indigenous Social Worker
Beryl's ancestral name is 7stil aa yaa (which means always doing something) and is from the Haida Nation and belongs to the Sangalth Stastas Eagle Clan. The Clan's main village was Kiusta on the Northwest Coast of Haida Gwaii. Beryl is a descendant of Albert Edward Edenshaw (Idaansuu), Head Chief of Sangalth Stastas - great grandfather Henry Edenshaw, grandfather Godfrey Kelly, great grandmother Martha Duncan Edenshaw, grandmother Victoria Edenshaw Kelly and mother Sylvia Kelly.
She is a mother of two children and she works in the Kwakwaka’wakw Territory on the lands of the Wei Wei Kai people in Campbell River BC. She has been working with the First Nation Health Authority for the past 3 years. She is the social worker on the Mental Health & Wellness Team with the Vancouver Island Region.
She has provided statutory and non statutory services in both Canada and Australia for Indigenous communities. She has a solid background as a social worker both in front line and management. In Canada, she has worked for the Provinces of British Columbia (BC) and Manitoba and with delegated First Nation agencies in BC providing support services to their respective communities.
Moderator Miranda Shannon: Program & Events Coordinator of SNIWWOC
Miranda is Nehiyaw (Plains Cree) with Irish ancestry from Frog Lake First Nation, AB. With a background in Indigenous studies, she focuses on advocacy and empowerment for Indigenous women and youth through her work as a facilitator.
She believes decolonization begins from empowering one another to speak their truth and listening to these stories from all walks of life.
In 2018 she completed an International Aboriginal Youth Internship in Uganda/Zambia where she worked with communities around sustainable development and gender equality.
Please join us for an evening to learn about the need to break the cycle of racism in healthcare. The event is free and open to the public.
The event link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83526021181
For media enquiries, please contact domi@sniwwoc.ca at least 48 hours prior to the event.
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We acknowledge that this event is hosted from the traditional territory of the Lekwungen people, currently and specifically the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations.