Losing his Spirit ¶
By: AleciaSkye on Dec. 13, 2024, 6:39 p.m.
Relating to my first post regarding the lack of resources in Indigenous communities, especially in the health care sector, this news article linked here (https://globalnews.ca/news/10911408/edmonton-hospital-indigenous-braids-alberta/) speaks on a family who is grieving the loss of a family members braids as he lay in the hospital for months. The man had been in the hospital since March and his wife regularly visited to check in, and this time, she and her family found her husbands braids have been cut off and thrown in the garbage. The wife, Eve, said that this had been done without consent or the family's knowledge, and it has caused significant pain to the Indigenous family. Hair is extremely significant in Indigenous culture, and it is often viewed as a signal of strength, so when Eve and her family experienced this, it was much more than just a simple loss, but rather a loss of their family members soul. The man in the hospital, Dexter, was a residential school survivor and growing his hair out had been forbidden for many years, so once he got older he began to grow his hair. Alongside the braids missing from Dexter's head, was the Eagle feather and Bear grease, and those two items were never recovered. Eve says the hospital provided an inadequate response to this incident and AHS stepped in and offered an apology and deep regrets on behalf of the hospital. However, Eve was never provided a formal apology from the hospital or the staff taking care of her beloved husband.
My initial thoughts after reading the article were just utter disbelief, and the lack of knowledge from the healthcare providers to even consider removing hair or belongings from a patient before getting permission from the family first. I think increasing cultural knowledge and training for ALL job sectors is needed and acknowledging different traditions and practices for each culture is essential to the reconciliation process. My heart breaks for these individuals, and I cannot begin to imagine what they are going through in this time.