OFFICE OF THE REGIONAL CHIEF
NOVA SCOTIA AND NEWFOUNDLAND
835 Willow Street Truro, Nova Scotia B2N 6N8
Email: pprosper@afn.ca

January 25 2021
Media Release

REGIONAL CHIEF SAYA NOVA SCOTIA NEEDS MI’KMAW-SPECIFIC VACCINATIOIN STRATEGY 

Mi’kmaw leaders are concerned by statements by provincial authorities that some Mi’kmaw communities in Nova Scotia may be excluded from the first round of the COVID-19 Vaccinations.

Regional Chief Prosper said, “The province needs to appreciate what is at stake if our elders get sick. Our old people hold knowledge, language, and traditions we are struggling to protect and maintain. They are very high risk from COVID-19 and as a result our very future as a people is at risk.”

While it’s fortunate that Mi’kmaw communities in Nova Scotia have been able to prevent the spread of COVID up to this point, there is no guarantee that this will last.

Pre-existing health concerns, along with often inadequate health and sanitation infrastructure, mean the First Nation across Canada face especially high risk from any infectious disease outbreak. While federal guidelines recommend that First Nations should be prioritized in the first round of COVID19 vaccinations, the National Advisory Committee’s emphasis on remote and marginalized communities, while appropriate in other regions, has been interpreted  as excluding some Mi’kmaw communities in Nova Scotia.

“The Point that has gotten lost is that the national guidelines call for prioritization of all individuals and communities where COVID-19 has disproportionate consequences” said Regional Chief Prosper. “This is clearly the case for all Mi’kmaw communities, regardless of whether the province considers them to be remote or marginalized.”

Mi’maw leadership is also concerned that there are no mi’kmaw representatives in the expert group overseeing the provincial strategy.

Regional Chief Prosper saod, “Since Mi’kmaw elder Albert Marshall introduced the concept of Etuaptmumk, or ‘two-eyed seeing’ to the world almost two decades ago, the importance of integrating Indigenous and western perspectives on health and science has been widely adopted throughout the scientific community. This is a time when ‘two-eyes’ seeing is especially important and should be a central part of how the province defined expertise in its roll out of COVID-19 responses”

BACKGROUND

Paul Prosper was elected Regional Chief for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in September of 2020. Previous to becoming Regional Chief he was Chief of Paqtnkek Mi’kmaq Nation since 2013 and has background in law. The Office of Regional Chief seeks to advocate and represent the interests of the Mi’kmaq throughout the region/

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