The Reconciling Ways of Knowing Forum in collaboration with the Victoria Forum, shared the fifth dialogue in our Online Forum series, “Millennia of Experience: Drawing on Indigenous Knowledge in

The Reconciling Ways of Knowing Forum in collaboration with the Victoria Forum, shared the fifth dialogue in our Online Forum series, “Millennia of Experience: Drawing on Indigenous Knowledge in Responding to COVID-19.” on November 12, 2020. This dialogue explored how collaboration between Indigenous knowledge and science can improve public health outcomes throughout Canada in the face of COVID-19. Preliminary reports from Indigenous Services Canada suggest that First Nations communities are experiencing 1/4 of the infection rate and 1/5 of the mortality rate from COVID-19 experienced by the general Canadian population. The session will explore how Indigenous Peoples have leveraged their millennia of experience enduring past pandemics to protect their people and foster their resilience in the face of new public health challenges. Speakers Elder Dr Dave Courchene, Jr, an Anishinaabe Elder and spiritual leader; Grandmother Katherine Whitecloud, a Dakota knowledge keeper and Indigenous health and wellness advocate; Miles Richardson, OC, a Haida political leader and negotiator focused on Nation-to-Nation relationships between Indigenous Peoples and Canada; Tom Swanky, JD, a historical researcher focused on the role of smallpox in the foundational relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the Crown in British Columbia; and Dr Sabina Ijaz, a medical doctor who has built deep relationships in Indigenous communities, in dialogue with moderator Darrin Mah, JD, discussed the history of what Indigenous Peoples have learned in responding to pandemics, how this informs their responses to COVID-19, and what can be learned more broadly within Canadian society and the global community from these lessons. The speakers discussed issues including: How Indigenous knowledge has been marginalized by a presumption within policy- and decision-making circles that (Western) science is the only valid form of knowledge upon which to base and inform their work; How the devastation of Indigenous populations during previous smallpox and Spanish Flu pandemics has influenced Indigenous responses to COVID-19; How Indigenous Peoples have exercised their sovereignty and self-determination to protect their nations and communities; The role of traditional medicines and healing practices in protecting community health and recovering from the pandemic; How Indigenous knowledge has helped mitigate negative health outcomes that may result from factors such as remoteness from healthcare facilities, food security challenges, higher poverty rates and housing shortages on reserve; Opportunities for collaboration between Indigenous knowledge and science for improved health and social outcomes as we navigate our way through the pandemic together. More information at https://www.waysofknowingforum.ca/dialogue-5 and https://www.waysofknowingforum.ca.

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