Hospitals and the Treatment of Indigenous People

During this course we have discussed racism and the effect of racism and it’s effect on Indigenous people and the way they are perceived in society. The other day I was sitting in the waiting room of the hospital when I heard a conversation a doctor was having with a nurse. In this conversation the doctor said something along the lines of I hate working in this hospital because all I tend to do is care for drunk and overdosed natives who suck up resources and take up and waste my time. The doctor went on saying that when he gets a call to come in that he decides how quickly to hurry based on the race of the patient. Now I'm not perfect and without fault when it comes to issues such as race but I found that I was very annoyed and upset about what this doctor had said. After my appointment I did some research and found that this was not just a problem in my hometown but is an ongoing issue that is across all of Canada. Well looking into this I found an article written by Chantelle Bellrichard intitled Investigation finds widespread racism and discrimination against Indigenous peoples in B.C. health-care system. In this article Bellrichard outlines an investigation led by Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond that looks into the treatment of Indigenous people in BC health care. The Investigation showed that “Racism, stereotyping and discrimination against Indigenous peoples in the B.C. health-care system are widespread and can be deadly…” (Bellrichard). Hospitals are supposed to feel safe and are a place for individuals to receive care and yet for the Indigenous population these places are unwelcoming and uncomfortable, an Indigenous woman in the report is quoted saying “I am afraid to go to any hospital. When I do have to, I dress up like I am going to church” (Bellrichard). I find it very disheartening that there is so much racism, stereotyping, and discrimination within health care system that Indigenous people feel as though they must dress in their Sunday best to receive care. Well writing this I keep going back to the thought how would I feel if I felt so unwelcomed in my own country that I could not fully accept my cultural upbringing and felt like I needed to change who I was just to receive care and feel welcomed. This reminds me of Thomas King, and Tommy Orange and their thoughts about what a true Indian is and how perceptions need to change before any real change can happen. Change can only happen in our healthcare system if we begin to actively seek pathways to enact the necessary changes. One of the changes recommended in the report is to begin at the lowest level and start change in university teaching cultural sensitivity and respect to nursing and medical students.

If you would like to read more you can read the CBC article here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/bc-health-care-racism-report-1.5820306
And Turpel-Lafond’s report https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/613/2020/11/In-Plain-Sight-Full-Report.pdf

I have heard of a similar story form my uncle about this sort of thing. My uncle had snapped his tendon over the last summer while we were out camping and had to go to the hospital. While in the hospital they doctors had asked him if he was an indigneous person when he had asked for medication for the pain to which he replied no. My uncle is fairly often mistaken for being an indigneous person because of how he looks and this was the case while he was in the hospital. In fact, they were still hesitant to give him anything for the pain because of how they racially profiled him and he really had to fight for the option to obtain the pain medication. It was insane to hear about because i thought this stuff would not have existed anymore with it being 2021 and all but sure enough it still happens

This is a clear example of how hosiptals can be racially prejudice towards indigneous people based off of the stereotypes that that are defined by. To think that helpful medication could potentially be witheld from someone purely based off the stereotypes of their race is ridiculous. Indigneous individuals should be able to have the same health care accomodations as everyone else. I think there is a serious issue here as hospitals can be life and death for some people and to have a racial bias in that type of workplace could mean death for someone. I agree that this needs to be addressed at the lowest level by starting the change through upcoming medical professionals as they can bring in a new wave of perspective into the hospital environment. As of right now after hearing about your experience and others it feels like there needs to be some sort of reform in the medical field around racial bais.