Aboriginal patients face racism in Manitoba health-care system, says advocate
A new report documents the kinds of racism Aboriginal Peoples face in Canada’s health care system, and one Winnipeg woman says she has seen it happen first hand.
“The doctor said to him, ‘the only reason you aboriginal young people come here is just to get a high on pills,'" said Eliza Beardy, who helped aboriginal patients for decades as an interpreter.
"And he never went back there, and he was sick."
Beardy said in her experience, people of colour are treated differently by hospital staff. Some aboriginal patients avoid medical treatment altogether just to avoid discrimination, Beardy said.
The report substantiates Beardy’s claims. The findings suggest racism in the health-care system has contributed to overall poorer health of indigenous people in Canada.
"The people that get the worst kind of racism are elders that do not speak English,” said David Harper, grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak. “And when they don't speak English, they think 'oh, you're just a drunken Indian."
The report also found that during a 2009 flu epidemic, authorities listed "being aboriginal" as a risk factor. The report suggests authorities should have more clearly explained in their risk criteria that substandard housing, overcrowding and a lack of running water were the real factors contributing to elevated flu risks for indigenous people.
Harper said the kind of racism borne out in the report is systemic and colonial in nature.
“The colonial government systems that were put in place years ago, that's still very much alive today. When you look at jails when you look at hospitals,” said Harper.
Following the Brian Sinclair inquest, the province has said it has taken positive steps toward mitigating issues of racism in Manitoba’s health care system. Sinclair was a homeless, double-amputee who was found dead after waiting 34 hours in a Winnipeg emergency waiting room.
Eliza Beardy said medical staff need to realize First Nations patients are no different than any other patient.
"I can say to them, ‘you're the same as me, you're not any different,’” said Beardy. “We're all one and we can look after each other."
