Volume 16, Number 3, 2026

EN:

Canada’s Impact Assessment Act (2019) presents threats to Indigenous homelands through environmental assimilation and the national public interest. The “taken-up” clause in the numbered treaties, unilateral exemption stipulation for designated projects, and other discretionary decision-making powers in the Impact Assessment Act all override sections in these documents or other pieces of legislation safeguarding Indigenous homelands, their way of life, and their rights—inherent and treaty. This research focuses on the views of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples on how the Impact Assessment Act (2019) and other historical agreements and legislation have and will affect their homelands, way of life, and wellbeing.

EN:

This qualitative research, the first Australian study of its kind, constitutes an in-depth analysis of kidney disease care policies and strategic plans (n=11) to identify how they recognise and affirm the healthcare rights of the Northern Territory’s (NT) Indigenous People. The Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights was used as a guiding document for the research. The study employed a thematic analysis method, specifically the framework analysis, due to its suitability for identifying and analysing patterns in qualitative data. The findings revealed that the Indigenous People’s healthcare rights are not explicitly addressed in the policies and plans, even though they constitute 89% of the kidney disease patient population in the NT. A salient aspect of every policy and strategic plan was the lack of specific affirmative actions and targets to evaluate renal care processes and progress for Indigenous Peoples.

EN:

Objectives: Indigenous people in Canada continue to suffer from higher rates of opioid overdose death than non-Indigenous groups. Although substance use treatment remains a key strategy in the context of the overdose crisis, the barriers to timely substance use treatment access among Indigenous people have not been well-characterized. This study aims to identify factors affecting treatment access for Indigenous residents in Vancouver, BC.

Methods: Data was derived from three prospective cohort studies of people who use drugs in Vancouver. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to identify barriers to substance use treatment access among Indigenous people from June 2015 to May 2022.

Results: This study included 784 Indigenous people who use drugs (median age 37.74, 48.41% who self-identified as women). At baseline, 55 (7.0%) participants reported difficulty accessing substance use treatment, increasing to 128 (16.33%) participants during follow-up. In multivariate analyses, homelessness ([AOR]: 1.63, 95% confidence interval [Cl]: 1.08 - 2.47), sex work (AOR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.12 - 2.47), and experiencing violence (AOR: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.25 - 2.81) were positively associated with difficulty accessing treatment. In sub-analyses, participants primarily found detox programs and treatment centers to be most inaccessible, with the primary barrier being long waitlists.

Discussion: The study revealed that a small, but significant, proportion of Indigenous participants, including those possessing marker of overdose risk, struggled to access treatment. These results highlight the need for specialized approaches to enhance access to culturally sensitive substance use treatment and trauma support for Indigenous individuals.

EN:

For over 25 years, the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) has been invited into Indigenous communities across Canada to support them in mobilizing to prevent violence and create safe environments to promote wellness for children and youth. We collaborated with four Indigenous communities to understand community mobilization processes. Community-based researchers ensured that the research was culturally appropriate. Conversations with community members who participated in CRC’s Ten Steps workshop were transcribed and qualitatively coded. We are reporting on the 15 themes that were common across the four communities. Ten common themes emerged related to how the workshop supported communities to mobilize and work cohesively to prevent violence. Five additional themes arose from community members’ suggestions for future programming and are described following the seven questions. Communities recognized the value of the CRC programming to create safe environments for children and youth.

EN:

Indigenous mothers face unique challenges and violence when they seek assistance from the healthcare system for themselves and their unborn children. From the mid-20th century on, when Canada’s Indigenous communities were sedentarized, women were compelled to give birth in hospitals. By taking control of Indigenous women’s bodies, the hospital-based healthcare system altered the fundamental structure of Indigenous societies. Even when efforts were made to expand accessibility by creating community health facilities, Indigenous women were still forced to give birth in hospitals. By centering on Innu and Atikamekw women’s voices, we examine how Quebec’s medical colonialism has affected Indigenous women giving birth in medical facilities. We demonstrate how the healthcare system disrupts Indigenous practices and knowledge regarding pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal recovery, thus altering an entire communal support system. We also examine the growing movement among Quebec’s Indigenous communities to reclaim control over childbirth as a means of opposing medical colonialism, notably through the return of traditional midwifery practices.

EN:

This study presents a Judicial Intersectionality method that incorporates knowledge from arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. It aims to examine how historical legal, political, and social injustices against Indigenous Australians have persisted in various spheres. When considering the Stolen Generations period, attention is directed on addressing the existing insufficient copyright rights and enhancing future legal results for Indigenous artists. In order to achieve that objective, a unique and distinct copyright system is regarded as the most suitable resolution. Philosophically and pragmatically, this approach was aligned with the Australian Government's 2023 Referendum, which aimed to grant constitutional status to Indigenous individuals and establish a Voice to Parliament advisory council. Although the Referendum did not succeed, the implementation of the standalone sui generis copyright system is a crucial step in the Government's efforts to acknowledge, reconcile, and create a relationship with Indigenous Australians. The Judicial Intersectionality method acknowledges the importance of chance-related connections in unique situations that are uncertain and necessitate action. Given that these circumstances offer fresh starts and chances for transformation, it is now the appropriate moment to embark on this endeavour, to deliberate on the paths of legal modification, and to enact fair, sustainable, and revolutionary copyright reforms for Indigenous Australian artists.