Community collaboration in the face of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Examples of How Remote First Nations in Northern Ontario Managed the Pandemic

Abstract

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was believed that Indigenous peoples in Canada would be disproportionately affected due to inequities across social determinants of health as a result of the ongoing processes of colonization. High levels of overcrowding, higher burden of chronic disease, reduced access to clean drinking water, healthcare, and food security in many rural and remote First Nations across northern Canada increased vulnerability to COVID-19. In the Nishnawbe Aski Region of northern Ontario, data from the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority indicates that First Nations communities were able to limit COVID -19 infection and had an overall fatality rate that was lower than the general Canadian population. The focus of this research was to analyze public health data, media reports, and research to determine how the pandemic impacted First Nations throughout northern Ontario. The research highlights that as a direct result of rapid and strength-based responses, First Nations in Northern Ontario have managed the pandemic with limited serious illness, hospitalizations, and fatalities.