The CMO’s role as Watchmon is to share the story of health and wellness of First Nations people in BC, illuminating First Nations’ roots of wellness (determinants of health), supportive systems and structures, approaches to wellness and health status. The FNHA CMO and the BC PHO work in partnership to develop regular and special, in-depths reports and publications.
First Nations Population Health and Wellness
The content in this report may trigger unpleasant feelings and memories of negative experiences. If you need emotional support, please see our Mental Health and Wellness Supports page.
Strength in Stories: First Nations Voices on Living with Diabetes weaves together a collection of personal stories from interviews with First Nations people across BC living with diabetes. It aims to both gain and provide a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges this population faces with respect to diabetes prevention and management.
We Walk Together
We Walk Together: Exploring Connection to Land, Water, and Territory-Final Research Report is a research report that explores the connection between land, water and territory and optimal health and wellness.
In 2016, the Office of the Chief Medical Officer (OCMO) and the Office of the Provincial Health Officer (OPHO) created a partnership to monitor and report on an expanded set of indicators that better reflect First Nations priorities and perspectives on health and wellness. One foundational aspect of understanding First Nations health and wellness – connection to land, water and territory – has not been measured in existing health data in BC.
The We Walk Together project gathered and brought together First Nations people in BC, including Knowledge Keepers and youth, on the unceded territories of three distinct First Nations : Stó:lō Nation (Fraser Salish region), Lil'wat Nation (Vancouver Coastal region), and Lake Babine Nation (Northern region). The goal of this project is to inform the development of a new health indicator based on First Nation Knowledges. The hope is that this indicator will enable the FNHA and the OPHO to monitor First Nations in BC's connection to land, water and territory and work with health system partners to strengthen it in order to be accountable to BC First Nations and uphold their inherent rights. This indicator will be reported on in future provincial population health and wellness reports.
Answering the Call
Answering the Call asks health system partners in British Columbia to bring culturally safe pre- and post-natal care closer to home for First Nations Lifegivers living in rural and remote communities. It also calls for an immediate end to Indigenous-specific racism, discrimination, and coercion. The report also highlights the great need for policies that address the social determinants of health including safe housing, food security, and access to health services to improve maternal and infant health outcomes, particularly for Lifegivers who use substances and/or have substance-use disorder.
Sacred and Strong
Sacred and Strong – Upholding Our Matriarchal Roles: The Health and Wellness Journeys of First Nations Women and Girls Living in BC is a report about – and for – all First Nations women and girls living in BC.
The report focuses on the health and wellness of First Nations women and girls, including teachings that First Nations have known since time immemorial contribute to mental, emotional, physical and spiritual well-being at every phase of life, from conception to old age.
It is a celebration of the incredible strength and resilience of First Nations women and girls. By sharing information and stories of lived experiences, this work aims to further empower women on their wellness journeys.
Sacred and Strong is also a reminder of the urgent need for collective action in eliminating prevailing systemic barriers to enable all First Nations women and girls to be self-determining, healthy and thriving.
