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Did you know that Canada's healthcare system perpetuates one of the highest, if not the highest, levels of medical racism against Indigenous peoples in the world? (1/n)
In a 2016 study sponsored by the University of Toronto, researchers found that inequalities in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada were greater than in the United States ... (2/n)
... even after controlling for factors such as socioeconomic status. Hence, our healthcare system, which sparks collective and personal pride for 94% of Canadians, is simultaneously responsible for denying many Indigenous peoples’ right to life. (3/n)
The disproportionate loss of Indigenous life within Canada’s healthcare system approximates a continued genocide. A recent report from @CPHO_Canada reveals that life expectancy for Indigenous peoples in Canada is 10 years lower than the national average. (4/n)
Furthermore, from @CPHO_Canada , First Nations, Inuit and Métis people are 2-3 times more likely to die from unintentional injuries, pointing to their severe lack of healthcare access in combination with remote and unsafe living conditions. (5/n)
For many Indigenous folks, these physical barriers to health translate to psychologically violent conditions, as suicide rates for all Indigenous peoples were found to be 2-6 times the national average in the same report. (6/n)
Many non-Indigenous Canadians are also unaware that Indigenous peoples are not covered under the Canada Health Act of 1984, which promises universal access to care. In fact, their health care still falls under the Indian Act, or federal jurisdiction. (7/n)
However, federal funds alone are severely insufficient to provide for millions of Indigenous peoples’ basic care. Hence, constant money transfers between provincial and federal governments for Indigenous peoples' healthcare have lead to bureaucratic delays ... (8/n)
... which leave Indigenous patients waiting for typically accessible medications, for doctor's appointments, and have lead to the deaths of many Indigenous patients while they have waited for care in the middle of financial disputes. (9/n)
The overarching paradox is that Canadian healthcare is simultaneously among the world’s most equitable and the world’s most oppressive. Moving forward, how can we challenge the biopolitics of our state, where the most valuable lives have always been the least Indigenous? (10/n)
Community access to knowledge is critical. If you would like to read more about the medical injustices facing Indigenous peoples, please see my sources in the following Google drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_EdBB6h1Pjln9RA4k9bSxbEifkxtPMxQ?usp=sharing - My tweets do NOT even scratch the surface.
@threadreaderapp please unroll this, thank you so much 
