Impact of COVID-19 on First Nations: Lessons from a successful response by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs

This is a special episode produced in collaboration with the Indigenous Policy Initiative (IPI) at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

This episode explores the COVID-19 response by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. At the outset of the pandemic, the Assembly formed the COVID-19 Pandemic Response Coordination Team in order to best face the coming pandemic. Their experience over the last year provides important insight and examples for indigenous policy throughout Canada. 

Grand Chief Arlen Dumas was elected Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs in July 2017. Prior to being elected, Grand Chief Dumas served his own community of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation as Chief for over a decade. Grand Chief Dumas grew up in Pukatwagan, MB, is fluent in Cree, and acts as a role model to young Indigenous men and women looking to reconnect with their own traditions, languages, and ceremonies. In his role of Grand Chief he continues to be on the front lines of many grassroots movements and is an unwavering supporter of the families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG).

Dr. Marcia Anderson is Cree-Anishinaabe and grew up in the North End of Winnipeg. She has family roots in the Norway House Cree Nation and Peguis First Nation in Manitoba. She is a medical officer of health for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, a past president of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada and past chair of the Pacific Region Indigenous Doctors Congress. Throughout her career Dr. Anderson has advocated for a more robust curriculum in Indigenous health and changes in the admissions process. She was recognized for her efforts in 2011 with a National Aboriginal Achievement Award (now the Indspire Awards) and was named one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2018 by Women’s Executive Network. Currently, she is one of the Indigenous medical experts who have led the Manitoba First Nations COVID-19 Pandemic Response Coordination Team.

Produced by:

Arman Bachmann - Indigenous Policy Initiative (IPI)

Ertiana Rrokaj - Indigenous Policy Initiative (IPI)

Megan Annable - Indigenous Policy Initiative (IPI)

Erin Christensen - Executive Producer, Beyond the Headlines