We know that it's going to be based on a couple of barriers, one of them being the colonial legacy of health care where indigenous people are experiencing poor impacts, poor access to health care, racism and blaming, a you-did-this-to-yourself type of attitude, instead of looking at some of the underlying conditions. The other is to take into context the cultural safety that is being provided to clients. How does the family understand their impact in relation to helping the person deal with their illness, rather than the stigma of telling them they did it to themselves?
Also, there's a problem with authority figures. The physician or nurse may be seen by the indigenous client as one who has a type of control over them, not realizing that all people actually have control over themselves. They also have to understand the environment that this person is having to live with. Are they looking to live off the land? They're not able to run to a Shoppers Drug Mart or to a grocery store to buy healthy foods or get the healthy quantities required.
It's a matter of looking at what we're dealing with here. Another cultural aspect is the fact that we have to be respectful of the protocols for leadership. What is the leadership doing in order to be able to address the illness in a positive fashion so we can move forward and identify some of those health-access barriers. Why are they there?