Pekiwewin (coming home): advancing good relations with Indigenous people experiencing homelessness – CMAJ

March 09, 2020

KEY POINTS

• In Canada, Indigenous people are 8 times more likely to be homeless than non-Indigenous people and represent 10%–80% of the total homeless population in large urban centres.

• The roots of Indigenous homelessness involve colonial disruptions of relationships with self, family, community, land, water, place, animals, culture and language.

• Responses to Indigenous homelessness need to be led by Indigenous Peoples and grounded in Indigenous worldviews and practices.

• Indigenous protocols regarding relationships provide a strong and practical framework for health and social service providers working with Indigenous people who are experiencing homelessness.

• The life experience of Indigenous people who are or have been homeless is an invaluable gift that can enrich communities and teach providers.

To align with domestic1 and international law,2 ethics guidelines,3 and the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada,4 development of clinical practice guidelines must be led by First Nation, Métis and Inuit Peoples and informed by their diverse and unique worldviews, practices and experiences. To uphold this principle, we have co-led the development of an Indigenous-specific clinical guideline regarding Indigenous homelessness that is distinct from and complementary to Pottie and colleagues’ guideline on health care for homeless people published in CMAJ.5 In this commentary, we present key elements of this Indigenous guideline, including 4 protocols to guide service providers.

The current state of Indigenous homelessness in Canada highlights the critical importance of recognizing and responding to intersectional oppressions, including colonial policies and impacts. Notwithstanding territorial land ties spanning up to 40 000 years,6 the First Peoples of what is now known as Canada experience a large and disproportionate burden of homelessness compared with those who have “settled” in Canada over the past 4 centuries. Studies indicate that Indigenous people are 8 times more likely to be homeless than non-Indigenous people and represent between 10% and 80% of the total homeless population in large urban centres.7^,8 These numbers almost certainly underrepresent the true magnitude of Indigenous homelessness.7^–9 The current paucity of specialized Indigenous-led strategies and resources to address Indigenous homelessness, including the absence of Indigenous-specific policy in Canada’s National Housing Strategy, is clearly in tension with population-based needs, current domestic1^,4 and international2 policy, and evidence showing that Indigenous leadership and participation is a critical component of successful programming for Indigenous Peoples.7^,10

Read More:https://www.cmaj.ca/content/192/10/E257