“Indigenous peoples experience a disproportionate burden of ill health associated with the
socioeconomic context of their lives. Investing in quality early childhood development and care (ECDC)
programs for Indigenous children is critical to redressing these health imbalances (BCACCS, 2014).” – (Halseth & Greenwood, 2019, p.5)
Public Domain photo by Balises
I feel the issue of health is the number concern, that needs to be dealt with first and foremost. This online publication from the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health in Prince George, BC, which is situated on the traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh, part of the Dakelh (Carrier) First Nations, touches on how the young Indigenous children still experience many health disparities like lack of nutritional foods, medicines, dental and health services. All of which can mostly be attributed to the socio-economic, environmental, political and historical conditions in which they live. High quality, holistic and culturally relevant care programs can provide a promising avenue for addressing these health disparities by optimizing Indigenous children’s physical, emotional, psychological, cognitive and spiritual development. This would ultimately, give them the best start in life and it can address health disparity issues consistently over the long-term. The problem that lies here is that there are a lack of these services for the Indigenous children living in the small communities that do not have the resources nor the capacity to initiate or maintain these programs. So how can we help eradicate these Indigenous inequities, is what this particular published journal inquires about.
Reference:
Halseth, R. & Greenwood, M. (2019). Indigenous early childhood development in Canada: Current state of knowledge and future directions. [Site]. 1-68. Retrieved June 19, 2021 from https://www.nccih.ca/docs/health/RPT-ECD-PHAC-Greenwood-Halseth-EN.pdf