A British Columbia report into the falling life expectancy for Indigenous peoples likely reflects the same dire health conditions in Saskatchewan.
The life expectancy index is the average life span for a given group. The life expectancy of the average Canadian is 82.7 years in 2024. The average Canadian life expectancy was 68 years in 1950 which is where B.C.’s Indigenous population is at today.
While this report is specific to British Columbia, the same circumstances exist across the country and the Indigenous health and morbidity rates are similar.
The health outcomes of First Nations people are based on more than drug addiction. A list of the leading morbidity factors in the First Nations population reveals gastrointestinal illness and upper respiratory infections. These are the diseases of poverty brought on by poor drinking water, housing and a low standard of living.
The B.C. government also conducted an investigation that found widespread racism in the health-care system. The report called “In Plain Sight” revealed that racism, stereotyping and discrimination were widespread within the health-care system.
Once again, this is a B.C. initiative, but I’m sure that many of the same issues would arise if such an investigation was conducted in Saskatchewan.
The Saskatchewan government and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations need to step up and review the health-care system and what steps can be taken to improve it.
At one time, we had two Indigenous hospitals. Today, we have only one in Fort Qu’Appelle. We need two more, one centrally located and another for the north.
Health care for Indigenous people is a treaty right. Our ancestors knew about the European diseases and wanted health care for future generations.
Under the constitution, First Nations are a federal responsibility but the federal government has turned health care over to the provinces and provides a funds transfer annually. Our people are left out of the equation, and we are simply regarded as a consumer of health care.
The province is in election mode and both parties should be lobbied to make a commitment to improve things, and not just a symbolic act of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Doug Cuthand is the Indigenous affairs columnist for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and the Regina Leader-Post. He is a member of the Little Pine First Nation.
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