Eldergatheringfinalreport
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
HONOURING OUR ELDERS: a traditional gathering to share knowledge Final Report 2013 1.0 Background The Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat in cooperation with the Atlantic Elder Care Working Group presented a two day regional gathering to share knowledge and discuss ways to improve the health and well-being of our First Nations. Best practices and lessons learned for working alongside Elders, plus current AAEDIRP research was shared. There were Elder lead workshops, panels and sharing circles. The event took place on June 20-21, 2013 at the Crowne Plaza in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The theme of the gathering was Honouring Our Elders: A Traditional Gathering to Share Knowledge. The intent was to share knowledge and gain important insight from our Elders to support their health and well-being. The Gathering included workshops on issues such as mental health, chronic disease management, wills and estates etc.; plenary sessions; and small group discussions to facilitate garnering the views of our Elders. There was also a banquet and cultural showcase on the evening of June 20, 2013. Elders from almost all of our Atlantic First Nations communities attended this historic event. 2.0 Objectives The objectives of this event were: • To share knowledge among Elders across Atlantic Canada • To discuss health issues related to First Nations and Elders • To develop action items that would improve the health and well-being of First Nations • To create a dialogue across the Atlantic provinces regarding Elder health Carey Romeo 1 3.0 The Gathering Thursday, June 20th - Day 1 Opening Ceremony EMCEE Allan Polchies Jr. welcomed everyone on behalf of Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs (APCFNC) and the Elder Care Working Group. Opening prayer and songs were offered by Elder Imelda Perley and Elder Katy McEwen. John G. Paul, Executive Director, APCFNC provided remarks and introduced the Keynote Speaker, the Honourable Graydon Nicholas, Lt. Governor of New Brunswick. The Gathering began with the Elder Address which would set the stage for the two day event. Elders Marilyn Sark, Molly Pierro and Andrew Nicholas provided the address. They spoke to their involvement with AAEDRIRP and the Elder Care Working Group. They also expressed the need for information, gaps there are and what their responsibility is, which is - what works and doesn’t work in Elder Care. NFIHB Elders “Lens”: Robyn Boychuk, FNIHB The Elder Care Lens is an Elder care assessment tool developed to examine what can be done or changed at Elder Level. Currently there is no Elder Care Program but other can be used. Other key programs that are used by the Elders are now being assessed and reviewed. Two of which that have been reviewed are that of Medical transportation and Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative. Medical transportation: • Quality of drivers • Timely access • Preapprovals 2 • Excluded services • Local travel not being covered • FNHIB developing an orientation package and code of conduct for drivers • Creating a fact sheet for “models for medical transportation • Provide enhanced cultural awareness training for non-insured health benefit staff. • FNIHB to create and implement policy with ongoing chronic health issues requiring to complete pre-approval for non-medical escorts, meals and accommodations. Possible strategies for this is to fast track approvals in extenuating circumstances; can be more responsive to Elders seeking pre-approvals for urgent and last minute appointments. Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative: • Management and development is focused to provide funding to communities and supporting capacity building. • Need adapted version of ECAT • Current version most useful with programs FNIHB directly delivers. • Adapted version for use with funding programs where FNIHB not directly delivering program. • FNIHB provide training- ADI workers/ Home care staff to better support healthy aging. • Targeted resources/ workshops intended to promote healthy aging to Elders. • Ways to give feedback to FNIHB is to forward concerns to the Elder Care Working Group or to MMAHB Comments and issues from the floor: • Medical drivers- wait times, low pay/mileage • Dental- Long approval times, not enough coverage for dental problems. Answer from FNIHB: dental no longer in the region, one centre for all across the country. Non-insured Health Benefits Committee to advocate for change. 3 • Too many policies on treatment and approval- e.g. being related to cosmetic issues; losing a tooth instead of replacing tooth (capping tooth instead of)> getting a bridge> causes more issues. Plenary: Traditional and Spiritual Aspects to Health - Elders Imelda Perley, Tuma Young and Gilbert Sewell Elders Imelda Perley, Gilbert Sewell and Tuma Young each in turn spoke to how their traditions and spiritual practices influence their daily life. Each also spoke of the remedies they use in their own health and the health of others. All three of the Elders told stories that related to the use of plants and animals for medicine. This brought out comments from the participants on the need for more education in this area. Simultaneous Workshops 1-6 There were six workshops held during the afternoon of Day 1. The participants could attend three out of the six sessions as each session was 45 minutes in length. Many of the workshops offered co-presenters. 4 Workshops topics and presenters were as follows: Workshop Title Presenter Presenter Elder Abuse Jamie Howie, Province of New Mandy Barnaby, RCMP Brunswick Fredericton Detachment Safe Medication Use Jennifer Ross Makham, FNIHB Home Safety Georgianna Barlow, APCFNC James MacKinnon, APCFNC Mental Health Veronica Moonstream WolfEagle, Josephine Muxlow, FNIHB Tobique First Nation Chronic Illness & Wendall Nicholas, Tobique First Clare MacEachern, Disabilities Nation Waycobah Health Centre Wills & Estates Tuma Young, Cape Breton University, Eskasoni First Nation Feast and Cultural Showcase The evening of Day 1 included a feast and cultural showcase for the Elders to relax and enjoy after a long day of workshops and sessions. The Crowne Plaza Fredericton prepared a feast using recipes and guidance from one of the Elders from St. Mary’s First Nation. Many of the participants were happy with the menu of corn soup, salmon, potatoes, fiddleheads, luski (made by the St. Mary’s Elder) and finally, strawberry shortcake. 5 Chris Wysote of Listuguj First Nation was gracious and provided EMCEE duties for the evening. There were two drum groups, one from Maliseet Territory and the other from the Mi’kmaq Nation. There were two shawl dancers and two grass dancers, all youth from the surrounding communities. It was a great evening with full attendance and the Elders gave the evening high scores in the evaluations. Friday, June 21st Day 2: Recognition of Gwen Bear and Elders Past A sunrise ceremony was organized by Elder Imelda Perley and a number of participants attend this ceremony before the day began. A recognition ceremony was held in honour of the memory and life of Gwen Bear and Elders past given by Imelda Perley and Katy McEwan and attended by Gwen Bear’s family. AAEDIRP intro to Elders Gathering Circles John R Sylliboy facilitated a morning session for the APCFNC staff and working group of the AAEDIRP (Atlantic Aboriginal Economic Development Integrated Research Program). Margaret Donahue, AAEDIRP Research Coordinator began with the overview of the program and the purpose of the research which is to improve community health and well being. The purpose of the Elder Gathering Circles is to find ways of how best the Elders can have input and contribute to the process. APCFNC would like to find ways to help the Elders and find what gaps in service there are for them. John R. Sylliboy facilitated the morning sessions for the circles and the plenary. 6 AAEDIRP Circles The participants were divided into four circles with each one being led by facilitator. They included Elder Imelda Perley, Wendall Nicholas, Sharon Taylor and Tuma Young. The MMAYC volunteers were on hand to take notes for each of the circles. The notes were then provided to the AAEDIRP team who have compiled a summary of the notes, comments etc. Small Group Discussions The final workshop of the gathering was small group sessions led by Chelsea Googoo, Elaina Bigras, Patricia Saulis and Wendall Nicholas with Alma MacDougall. Following the group discussions, a panel presentation for “Addressing Concerns and Moving Forward” took place. Each of the group session leaders reported back on the top five concerns of each group and any recommendations made during the sessions. The detailed summary of these sessions are included in Appendix “A” attached. Elder Gift Exchange The Elders were given the opportunity to exchange and receive gifts. It was well received and everyone exchanged gifts. Closing Ceremony The closing ceremony was delivered by Imelda Perley and Katy McEwen. The Honor song was sung by a young girl in the 7 4.0 Workshop Attendance The Honouring Our Elders Gathering was extremely well attended. Elders from 34 of the 38 communities in Atlantic Canada were represented at the Gathering. The projected attendance was to have 150 participants and the final tally was 152 in total. Registration list attached in Appendix “B”. 5.0 Evaluations Evaluations were distributed at the beginning of day 2 of the conference. They were placed on tables and also distributed by staff. The emcee was able to do several announcements to remind participants to complete their forms before departing. This ensured that all participants received the form and we could track completed forms. The completed evaluations have been summarized for review. Overall, the conference received extremely high marks on the evaluations. Great comments were provided by the participants and suggestions for actions and follow up have also been documented. There were 67 completed evaluations (44% return). The responses below have been summarized in ‘Appendix C’ and the completed forms will be provided for file information.