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“Shawane Dagosiwin”
Aboriginal Education Research Forum
Winnipeg, Manitoba
June 2, 2005
Lois Edge, Senior Research Officer
Michael Fisher, Research and
Policy Officer
Origin & History
Royal Commission on Aboriginal
Peoples, 1996 & National Forum on
Health, 1997
NAHO established in 1999 with a
unique structure
Métis Centre formed in 2001
One of three distinct Centres within
NAHO, also including: First Nations
Centre & Ajunnginiq Centre (Inuit)
NAHO
The National Aboriginal Health
Organization, an Aboriginal
designed and controlled body,
will influence and advance the
health and well-being of
Aboriginal Peoples by carrying
out knowledge-based
strategies.
Métis Centre
MHC Vision
The Métis Centre @ NAHO is
dedicated to improving the
mental, physical, emotional,
spiritual and social health of Métis
in Canada through the
advancement and sharing of
knowledge in the field of Métis
health.
Objectives
1. Improve the knowledge base in
Métis health
2. Promote Métis health issues
3.
Facilitate and promote
research and develop
research partnerships
4. Foster the recruitment, retention
& training Métis in the delivery
of health care
5. Affirm traditional knowledge
healing practices
Holistic Approach
to Health
Good health is determined by more
than simply the absence of illness
From an Aboriginal perspective, it
is a balance between physical,
mental, emotional, spiritual and
social elements
Concept of
Population Health
The Public Health Agency of Canada
says:
"[We] need to address the
entire range of conditions and
factors that determine health
[and] the complex interactions
among them..."
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ph-sp/phdd/
Population Health
BIOLOGY
EDUCATION
INCOME &
SOCIAL STATUS
SOCIAL SUPPORT
PHYSICAL
ENVIRONMENT
GENDER
Holistic Health
SOCIAL
ENVIRONMENT
EMPLOYMENT
CONDITIONS
SPIRITUAL
PHYSICAL
MENTAL
EMOTIONAL
CULTURE
HEALTHY CHILD
DEVELOPMENT
HEALTH
SERVICES
COPING SKILLS
Métis Health
Métis in Canada
“We are a people set apart.
With one foot planted in our white
European ancestry,
and the other foot planted in the
timeless tribal customs of the Indians,
we belong wholly to neither
and, as a result, hold on to each
other and our traditions all the more
tightly.”
Senator John Boucher
St. Louis, Saskatchewan
Métis Identity
Population
Statistics Canada’s 2001 Census
One in three Aboriginal people is
Métis — 30% of the total Aboriginal
population
About 295,000 report Métis identity
Fastest growing Aboriginal
population
High numbers live in western cities
Métis Identity
Population
Statistics Canada’s 2001 Census
Métis population much younger
than the non-Aboriginal pop.
Métis are highly mobile
Improving levels of education, but
still below non-Aboriginal pop.
Levels of employment improving,
but still behind general pop.
Health Status of the Métis Population
Statistics Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples Survey 2001
 Métis households twice as likely to be below suitability
 More Métis children live in low-income
households than non-Aboriginal children
 Métis children almost twice as
likely to live with a lone parent
 Growing physical health
concerns, such as diabetes &
arthritis
Health Status of the Métis Population
Statistics Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples Survey 2001
 Métis children are least likely to speak an
Aboriginal language than other Aboriginal
children
 A majority feel Aboriginal language
retention and learning are important
 In a 2002 pubic opinion poll,
Métis identified a loss of land and
culture as significant contributors
to poor health status
Métis Population
Health Issues
Similar health status as other
Aboriginal groups but limited access
to programs & services
Lack of information
Limited opportunity for Métis to selfidentify as Métis
Jurisdictional issues
Lack of infrastructure, resources and
funding
Métis Community
Capacity Building
Workshops
 Delivered in BC, Alberta,
Saskatchewan & Ontario
 Designed to “plant seeds of selfdetermination”
 Reflective of community needs
 Four modules: Health
Information, Needs Assessment,
Funding Proposals, Project
Management & Evaluation
Métis Community
Capacity Building Workshops
Health
Information
and Research
Finding
Resources &
Developing
Funding
Proposals
Planning and
Needs
Assessment
Project
Management
& Evaluation
Métis Health &
Wellness
Lies in culture, identity and traditional
knowledge
Evidenced in history and experiences
as shared in storytelling
Dependent on health of the land &
water & our relationship with the
environment
Métis Elders Gatherings
 Brings together Métis Elders,
Healers and Seniors from BC, AB,
Métis Settlements, NWT, Sask., MB
& ON
 Promotion and revitalization of
traditional knowledge and
healing practices
 Language retention
Métis Elders Gatherings
 Traditional protocols
 Spirituality
 Ceremony
 Medicines
Métis Centre@NAHO
Visit us on the web:
www.naho.ca/metiscentre