Page 28 - DIVA_3_2022

international

York City and also a professor at McGill University in “You will never make it, so why don’t you clean or be a
Canada. gardener?” So, we have to find ways to get Native people
into higher or even secondary education – law schools,
What are your plans for the Indian Community House? medical, nursing, social work…
Right now, we are focused on the Land Back initiative. I just got my PhD from McGill University, and I
It is a movement across the globe through which nation interviewed Indigenous health care providers across
states and concerned citizens are working on recovering Canada about their experiences. Now I’m making my
Indian and Indigenous peoples’ land. I’m concentrating thesis available to schools of nurses and schools of social
on this movement to help Indigenous communities work so that they can learn about the Indigenous and
actually get back land that has been taken from them. their specific needs.
Here in New York City, we have this native center with
about 10,000 Native members from all over the United You have done so many things, and could one say that
States and Canada. you have been working for the Indigenous your entire
life?
Now we are looking for a new center where we can have Yes, I have done everything including case management,
community-based programs. The rents in New York homeless outreach, crisis services. Now I’m a professor
are so high that many non-profit organizations are not at McGill University teaching a field course with other
able to compete. We were paying 40,000 united States professors around Indigenous experiences. We have
dollars a month, and government grants paid the rent students from medicine, nursing, law that will go to a
in the end, but if we lose one grant our revenue cycle native community. This year’s field course gives the
becomes weakened. Thus, we hope that this “Land Back” students the Indigenous point of view that they would
initiative will help stabilize us so that we can grow our not get unless they went to work in a native community.
community programmes such as health programs and So, I teach that, and I also do tuberculosis research
social programs for community members, in particular in Nunivak which is north of Quebec in the Inuit
for the youth and the students. community. We interview community members about
their experiences with tuberculosis. In almost every
Last Saturday we attended Columbia University. A Indigenous community there is a strong prevalence of
group of students at Columbia University organized tuberculosis. It is very acute.
a community Pow Wow. I came down from Montreal
with native students from Concordia in Montréal. We How do you explain that?
drummed and danced for the rain, and it arrived. We We are trying to find out from the community perspective
also had a student exchange. The American Indians were because the Inuit are heavily impacted. It is probably
there too and brought with them information about because they do not have nurses or doctors from their
the different communities. There is a lot going on right community. It is all outsiders that come, and they may
now. not relate well to community members because it’s a
very specific Indigenous society. Perhaps the community
Where do you get the energy from? members do not get the education, prevention and
I really believe in helping Native people, and I love our treatment that would eradicate it.
community in particular for its diversity.
You are into teaching, research and community service.
Would you say that there is discrimination against the How do you manage to find time for it all?
Native people in the United States? I try to be very focused. You make appointments and
Yes, and the same applies to Indigenous in Canada, keep them, you ask for help when you need it, and you
where there is not really access to quality education for do not over commit yourself. You cannot do everything!
Indigenous children. The inequality is huge. What happens I often have all kinds of desires, but I make sure that I
then is that they are not able to get into universities and do my job.
colleges because the education they receive at home is
not delivered well or is just not adequate preparation. The What would you say has been the most difficult part for
government responds by trying to turn our people into you?
manual laborers like construction workers, restaurant It is always within the Indigenous services because
workers and so on. They do not really think of addressing there is inconsistent infrastructure. We are a very small
the Indigenous intellectuals. It is like they are saying, community, altogether 3, 5 million people within the

w w w. d i va i n t e r n at i o n a l . c h