Fort Nelson First Nation hosts health fair

FORT NELSON, B.C. — Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN) is hosting a Health Fair for its members on March 1st.

The event features various presenters, including health care practitioners, and booths featuring homeopathic remedies.

The fair also features workshops about healthy eating habits and blood pressure checks from FNFN health care aids and community nurses.

Members from the Fort Nelson Fire Department, the B.C. Hospice Society, Fort Nelson RCMP, the Fort Nelson Literacy Society, the Northern Rockies Child Development Association and Northern Health will attend.

According to Stephanie Parson, the First Nation’s community youth and outreach worker, they want to give members the opportunity to speak with a variety of experts.

“We’re going to have informative booths with various fun activities,” said Parson. “This fair is a chance to enhance the avenues that show people what services they have in the north.”

“Presenters can come and showcase what they have to anybody. Anyone in the community can come and get more information.”

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a significant concern within Indigenous communities.

According to a 2019 study by the National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health (NCCIH), Indigenous women are 17.8 per cent more likely than non-Indigenous women to experience issues such as high blood pressure, heart disease and the effects of stroke.

The same study suggests that Indigenous women are also 76 per cent more at risk of dying from CVDs than non-Indigenous women.

According to Dr. Annalijn Conkin, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at UBC,  there is considerable mistrust among the Indigenous community and modern medicine.

Conklin says that while healthy eating habits are vital in caring for your heart, there are underlying factors with Indigenous peoples that most are not aware of.

Intergenerational trauma, which stemmed from the Indigenous populations’ experience within the residential school system, could be a factor.

“We know from research that adverse childhood experiences play a role in poor health outcomes such as diabetes,” said Conklin. “There are many factors that you would call environmental determinants.”

“Modern medicine to the Indigenous population can be seen as part of the colonial enterprise. I am not surprised to see there is hesitation to see professionals given the fact the establishment has been harmful to that community.”

Conklin says healthy eating habits assist in vitality, but “being around positive individuals and supportive interactions” with others also helps lower the risk of CVDs.

The event is taking place at the Charlo Gym from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Call the FNFN health department at (250)774-2300 for more information.