Grant: Catalyst Grant: Moving Upstream - Indigenous Health and Wellness

Increasingly there are opportunities for First Nation (FN) Peoples' voices to be uplifted and unsilenced. In Manitoba (MB) the Indigenous Healthcare Quality Framework (IHQF) is an example of FN, Inuit, and Métis voices and experiences guiding the development of a healthcare evaluation tool. Identification of unique and pressing needs among Indigenous Peoples, inform strategies for healthcare improvement, which includes addressing all forms of racism. The IHQF is useful to critically reflect upon healthcare policies and practices, and how they contribute to quality healthcare for Indigenous Peoples - such as the system of medical transportation for FN patients, which exist to address health care access inequities. Each year, thousands of FN patients in MB are relocated from their home communities to Winnipeg to access healthcare. However, there are noted difficulties in how this unfolds. For many, disjointed systems and insufficient supports result in accommodations and services often inappropriate for health and healing. This exacerbates the stressors associated with traveling to the city for medical care including racism and discrimination. This is system-level structural racism in action. FN leadership and community have called for higher quality accommodations and services for FN accessing healthcare in Winnipeg and more accountability from governments when it comes to provisions. We must turn our attention to the system-level issues that compound the challenges of accessing healthcare away from home for so many FN Peoples. This study opens space for medical transportation to be studied from an FN perspective and using Indigenous methodologies: a multiple method qualitative research design involving relationship building, document review, story gathering, and future grant development. The investigation of what happens with FN Peoples in the healthcare system, signifies a movement to dismantle the racism and colonial ideologies that allow for ongoing mistreatment.