Wapekeka's COVID-19 response: A local response to a global pandemic
Date
2022
Authors
Loukes, Keira A.
Anderson, Stan
Beardy, Jonas
Rondeau, Mayhève Clara
Robidoux, Michael A.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Abstract
Two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many nations and communities
continue to grapple with waves of infection and social fallout from pandemic fatigue and frustration.
While we are still years away from realizing the full impacts of COVID-19, reflecting on our collective
responses has offered some insights into the impact that various public health policies and decisions
had on nations’ abilities to weather the multifaceted impacts of the pandemic. Widely believed to
have the potential to be devastated by COVID-19, many Indigenous communities in Canada were
extremely successful in managing outbreaks. This paper outlines one such example, Wapekeka First
Nation, and the community’s formidable response to the pandemic with a specific focus on food
mobilization efforts. Built on over a decade of community-based participatory action research and
informed by six interviews with key pandemic leaders in the community, this paper, co-led by two
community hunters and band council members, emphasizes the various decisions and initiatives that
led to Wapekeka’s successful pandemic response. Proactive leadership, along with strong traditional
harvesting and processing efforts, helped to take care of the community while they remained strictly
isolated from virus exposure.
Description
Keywords
First Nations, Indigenous health, COVID-19 response, food security, food sovereignty, First Nations governance, subarctic Ontario, traditional food
Citation
Loukes, K. A., Anderson, S., Beardy, J., Rondeau, M. C., & Robidoux, M. A. (2022). “Wapekeka’s COVID-19 response: A local response to a global pandemic.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(18), 11562. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811562