Pandemic Impacts for Indigenous Children and Youth Within Canada: An Ethical Analysis

Abstract

In response to new and exacerbated challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Indigenous children and youth in Canada have developed innovative and holistic solutions to amplify their voices, continue cultural engagement and combat social isolation for themselves and their communities as a whole. In this analysis, we have selected three Indigenous philosophical tenets as an ethical orientation for discussion of how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the well-being of Indigenous young people. The guiding values of interconnected relationships, holism and Indigenous-informed restorative justice help us interpret existing pandemic-specific literature and identify, define and prioritize considerations of child and youth well-being from an Indigenous-centred worldview. This analysis can (a) help inform future pandemic measures affecting Indigenous young people and (b) foster similar considerations for Indigenous communities in other regions of the world.

Children as an afterthought during COVID-19: defining a child-inclusive ethical framework for pandemic policymaking

“…For instance, the sudden closure of schools in Ontario (Canada) early in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic had short-term impacts on children’s mental health and socialization skills, while having potential (and predictable) long-term impacts on their economic well-being [ 46 ]. Indigenous children, Black children, and children from other racialized and/or socially disadvantaged groups have been disproportionately exposed to harms before the pandemic, which the pandemic has amplified [ 47 – 49 ]; this includes children with disabilities or underlying health conditions, too, who have faced additional concerns in the pandemic [ 50 ], immigrant children, and refugee children [ 28 ]. For example, there were significant challenges for children from low socioeconomic positions to gain access to computers or tablets for online schooling.…”

Still Thriving: A Case Illustrating How COVID-19 Affected Indigenous Health and Wellness

“…Lau et al (2017) ascertained that a dearth of research has been done to explore the consequences of teacher burnout, needed coping strategies and/or preventative factors for teachers ' well-being. (p. 26) It seems fair to conclude that the global pandemic created by COVID-19 intensified and exacerbated many of the existing pressures that all educators faced (Yong, 2021) and, in particular, placed an uneven 100 Cranston & Whitford burden on Indigenous teachers and educational leaders (Heck et al, 2021).…”

“…Throughout the various waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indigenous young people, families, and communities within Canada have faced new and more intensified pre-existing challenges to their health and well-being (Giroux et al, 2020). Arguably, many of the pre-existing disparities have likely been worsened by widespread health and economic crises resulting from the pandemic (Heck et al, 2021).…”

“…The global persistence of health inequities for Indigenous peoples is evident in the ongoing discrepancies that exist in health services and standards of living. The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed many of these inequities (Heck et al, 2021). Improving the health and well-being of Indigenous students and staff in the education sector falls within a growing broad discussion on decolonized approaches to understanding health and wellness (Eni et al, 2021).…”

Identifying priorities, directions and a vision for Indigenous mental health using a collaborative and consensus-based facilitation approach

“…Heck et al . (2021) described how “physical distancing makes it difficult to interact with people who are at risk of experiencing mental health challenges and to organize ways to collectively grieve and heal” [ 3 ]. Indigenous peoples have expressed the desire for access to traditional ceremonies and medicines to discover solutions and help cope with pandemic challenges [ 4 ].…”