Socio-Economic Gap

#3 Health Inequities: A Crisis Within a Country of Health By Gordon Elliott (ȻELOȽEMKEN), Director of Operations, W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council  This past summer, I took a leave from work — time I needed to recover, to reflect, and most importantly, to support my wife following her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. After eight rounds of chemotherapy and an incredibly challenging eight months, I knew, we knew that we needed to step back and focus on healing — hers, mine, and ours together. Bear Hill and X̱E,OL,X̱ELE₭ (Elk Lake) from PKOLS Over the past 18 years as an elected [...]

Roots of the Socio-Economic Gap By Gord Elliott –(ȻELOȽEMKEN) Director of Operations, W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council When we ask why the socio-economic gap exists, the answers are found in our history. However, the decisions, policies, and actions that create these are not distant events locked away in the past, they continue to shape our lives every day. Colonization was not a single moment; it was a system of intentionally designed processes that dismantled our governance, took our lands, outlawed our economies, and targeted our children through residential schools. Every part of this system had the same goal: to weaken W̱SÁNEĆ [...]

Bridging the Socio-Economic Gap: What It Is and Why It Matters Have you ever wondered why poverty levels, health issues, housing struggles, and other challenges are so common in First Nations communities, and why they are so much higher than in non-First Nations communities? This is not by accident. It is often described by a single term: the socio-economic gap. This past summer was sad and difficult for our families, marked by a significant number of sudden losses in our communities. Adding to this, the number of people being diagnosed with severe diseases and illnesses appears to be rising [...]