Sharing Back the Research with the Community

By Sarah Wood, 1st year MDP student

For the second half of my placement, I returned to Winnipeg to work on data entry and analysis of the information gathered in the surveys on maternal health services that I collected in Norway House last month. After a month or so of this work, I returned to Norway House for Treaty and York Boat Days to disseminate some of the preliminary findings to community members during the health fair. The health fair drew a wide audience on this rainy August day. The participants explored the displays from various health initiatives in and around the community and filled out a health fair “passport” to win prizes.  

Our table at the health fair

Through working with Norway House during this stage of the project, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of reciprocity and sharing back the information gathered through research. Research has a long colonial history that must be acknowledged and challenged. Research should not be extractive, but reciprocal. During the health fair, quite a few people took the time to read through a pamphlet which graphically displays some of the results of the survey. There seemed to be significant interest from both men and women about the future of maternity care in the community.

I was also able to witness an exciting presentation in another area of Indigenous health during Treaty and York Boat days. Cindy Blackstock, First Nations child welfare advocate, was honoured by Norway House for her work with Jordan’s Principle. Jordan’s Principle, which seeks to end delays due to jurisdictional disputes surrounding healthcare for First Nations children, is named for boy named Jordan who was from Norway House. 

 

I was able to learn a lot about Indigenous maternal health during my time in Norway House and Winnipeg, but was also able to learn about many other intersecting health issues and initiatives under way in this vibrant Cree community.  

I would like to thank Norway House Cree Nation leadership for hosting me during my placement and Councillor Gilbert Fredette for his support in Norway House, as well as the staff at the Health Division for their help in ensuring I was able to distribute the surveys! I would also like to thank the research team at the University of Winnipeg, Dr. Jaime Cidro and Betsi Dolin for their guidance and support!

Cindy Blackstock speaking in Norway House

 

From Norway House to New York

By Rachel Bach, 2nd Cohort

Rachel Bach (L) and Alison Everitt (R)

My first field placement has come to an end and I am now back in Winnipeg and back to classes. I had a great time in Norway House and I definitely learned a lot. We had the opportunity to work on a variety of tasks and projects; like the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program, Steps & Stages, the Summer Activity Camp for Special Needs Children, Norway House Celebrates Moms and Babies, among others. I will always remember my time in Norway House fondly and I have a new appreciation for my coursework now that I have some experience on the practical side.

As part of our field placement, we attended two research summits; on in Norway House and one in Winnipeg. Dr. Roberta Woodgate had recently completed a 5 year study in Norway House and was presenting on the findings. Her study was entitled: Understanding the Disability Trajectory of First Nation Families of Children with Disabilities. The study revealed that the families of children with disabilities have many needs that are not adequately addressed and that parents struggle due to a lack of resources and services in the community. In our talks with the community, we learned that this has been an issue for many years and is largely due to jurisdictional disputes. The provinces will not fund services in the community because First Nation’s are a federal responsibility, but the federal government will not fund these services as healthcare is a provincial responsibility. The families and individuals are the ones that suffer as a result. Families of children with disabilities are left with four options. Firstly, families can place individuals in institutional care, which is costly and would likely be away from the community. Secondly, the entire family can relocate to larger urban centers to access services – in the case of Norway House they would likely be relocating to Thompson [a three hour drive from Norway House] or Winnipeg [an eight hour drive from Norway House]. A third option is to remain in the community with no or few services. The final option for families of children with Special Needs is to give up your parental rights to the child and give your child up to Child and Family Services in order to give the child access to services. Regardless of the option chosen, individuals and families still face exclusion through isolation, marginalization, and complex daily challenges. This is further compounded by the endemic levels of poverty, lack of access to health care, limited social services, and restricted educational opportunities that are characteristic of First Nations across the country. These issues expand to adults with special needs and their families. Children are eligible for some services through the education system. However, one they “age out” of the system, there is nothing available to them in the community.  

Andrea Folster is the manager of the Home and Community Care Program in Norway House. She wants to open up a home for adults with special needs in the community. The idea is use the current Phillip Evans Memorial Home. Ali and I worked with Andrea to create a proposal to do so. The proposal is currently under review. This was an exciting project to be apart of, as it is a community-based solution to a self-identified gap; this is what development practice is all about!

When Ali and I saw the call for abstracts for the First Annual Conference on Sustainable Development Practices we thought that it would be a great opportunity to share with the MDP community about our experience in Norway House and to highlight what they are doing. The people in Norway House had expressed that it can be difficult being so remote and that it is easy to feel isolated. It was nice to be able to share their story and to represent Canada at the conference.

International Conference on Sustainable Development

Presenting at the conference was a great experience. We were able to network with like-minded others. It was nice to meet students from the other 24 programs. We met students and faculty from Sciences Po, Lund University, Columbia University, the University of Waterloo, Berkley, University of Minnesota, Universidad de Los Andes, and more. There were also representatives from the private and non-profit sector, which was a great opportunity to see how they relate to the academic world.

Overall, it was great experience and I would strongly recommend other students to submit abstracts on their projects next year!

Relationships as the Backbone to Community Development

By Alison Everitt, 1^st year MDP student

I have now completed my field placement with the Health Division in Norway House Cree Nation. I spent eleven weeks working in the community and I can honestly say that I learned a lot. Leaving for my placement, I had certain expectations of what I was going to see and do during my time up north. I thought that I would write a few funding proposals, sit in on community events, and maybe see a bear or two. While all of this did prove true in the end – and certainly taught me a lot – it was the unanticipated knowledge that I found to be the most rewarding from my time in the community.

The main memory that I will take away from this experience is the importance of building relationships within the community. The people that we met in Norway House were incredible and I was always treated with great kindness. People were always ready to offer words of welcome [“We’re very excited to have you here!”] and pieces of advice [“You’re living on West Island? Watch for bears!”] in the hopes of making our stay in the community as rewarding and comfortable as possible. As Rachel and I only knew each other when we first arrived in Norway House, the support that was given to us by community members was greatly appreciated.

What I soon learned was that this level of support and kindness was the backbone of the entire community. All of the people in the programs in the Health Division work endlessly to help as many community members as possible in spite of limited access to the resources that are often enjoyed in ‘the south’. Local businesses make significant donations towards community events in the hopes of making them as successful as possible. Individuals also play their part: for instance, by the beach there is one family who will sit outside and make sure that all the children are safe while they play in the water. Family members also allow the children to leave their bicycles on the lawn outside their house so that they can ensure that the bikes won’t be stolen. 

Our work in the community repeatedly highlighted the importance of relationship-building. During my time in the Health Division, one program manager in particular demonstrated how this rapport is necessary for community development programs. By observing her interactions with the women who participate in her programming you could tell that they all really liked her and also held so much respect for her. This allowed her to talk about topics such as breastfeeding, and have everyone listen and really value her input. She really showed me that, particularly in a First Nations community, your relationships with people are your top priority. Your word is everything; and once people trust and respect you, then you can start having a meaningful impact in peoples’ lives. This is when actual change happens. Working with wonderful people like her was one of the most rewarding parts of this field placement and it is these relationships that I will never forget.

Rachel Bach (Front-L) & Alison Everitt (Front-R) at the Norway House Health Division

This summer, I saw how things actually work on a reserve. I was able to see what really needs to be improved and also to see what initiatives are already in place to try and do so. I can also now appreciate how many opportunities there are to make a difference, as well as numerous challenges involved in doing so. For example I learned how small initiatives, like a cooking class, can have such a large impact for those who participate in it. I now know that a project or program doesn’t have to be a big, complicated one in order to make a significant change; it just has to be one that will produce a change that is actually needed.

In sum, my time in Norway House taught me a lot of the things that I was expected to learn on my field placement. However, it also gave me knowledge and insight that I did not expect to gain and that is why my time in this community was so valuable to me.