Resources for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Community Members

Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team

For Inuit wishing to access COVID-19 assessment and testing, please contact Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team for an appointment. Services offered in Inuktitut and English.

Open 9:30 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday
24 Selkirk Street, Suite 300
Ottawa, K1L 0A4

613-740-0999

Wabano - October 26 & 27 

Wabano will be offering COVID-19 on-site testing for First Nations, Inuit & Métis community members. 

By appointment only! 

Date: Monday, October 26 & Tuesday, October 27 
Time: 9:30 am to 4:00 pm 

Please visit our COVID-19 Testing Information webpage.

Fact Sheets

• Employee Screening Questionnaire - Ottawa Public Health (Algonquin, Inuktitut, and Michif)
• Elevator Etiquette - Ottawa Public Health (Algonquin, Inuktitut, and Michif)
• What You Need to Know About COVID-19 - Ottawa Public Health (Algonquin, Inuktitut, and Michif)
• Assembly of First Nations: COVID-19 - Assembly of First Nations (English only)
• Cannabis Use and COVID-19 - Assembly of First Nations
• Coronavirus Fact Sheet - Assembly of First Nations
• Social Supports for First Nations Families - Assembly of First Nations
• Tobacco Use and COVID-19 - Assembly of First Nations
• Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami: COVID-19 - Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (Inuktitut and English)
• COVID-19 Federal Benefits Access Tool - Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami 
• COVID-19 Infographics - Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami 

• Going Out? Do it Safely - Government of Canada (available in many Indigenous languages)  

Videos 

• Indigenous Services Canada
  • Keep it clean: Stop the spread of COVID-19 in Indigenous communities (English - also available in Mohawk, Michif, Mi'kmaq, Ojibwe, Oji-Cree, Stoney and Inuktitut)
• Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (English and Inuktitut)
  • COVID-19 Public Health Messaging
  • COVID-19: Economic Supports

• Indigenous Services Canada (available in many Indigenous languages)

  • View the GCIndigenous COVID-19 YouTube Channel for various videos.

Websites (General COVID-19 information and resources)

• Government of Nunavut
• Indigenous Services Canada
• Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
• Métis Nation of Ontario
  • COVID-19 Support Programs
  • Ottawa Regional Métis Council  / Email: contactus.ormc@gmail.com
• National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health 
• Native Women’s Association of Canada   
• Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition
• Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health
• Well Living House 

Resources 

• Fact Sheet on Food Resources - Human Needs Task Force, City of Ottawa
• Take Away Meals Available for People in Need Living in Downtown Ottawa - Human Needs Task Force, City of Ottawa
• Grocery Shopping, Meal Planning, and Cooking During COVID-19 webpage - Ottawa Public Health
• Shopping Etiquette - Ottawa Public Health (Algonquin, Inuktitut, and Michif)

Infographics

• Provide for Elders by Dropping off Food at the Door - Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (Inuktitut and English)
• Send one member of the household to get groceries. Keep kids at home - Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (Inuktituk and English)
• Sharing the Harvest During the Pandemic - First Nations Health Authority (English only)
• Stay at Home and Get Groceries Once a Week - Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (Inuktitut and English)

Mental Health Supports

• Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team

  • For more information, please call: 613-740-0999 ou generalinfo@aifht.ca
  • Mental health support available in Inuktitut and English for Inuit of all ages
• Counselling Connect - includes Indigenous in-person or phone counselling using Indigenous and Western approaches to healing. This service is for children, youth, adults and families in Ottawa and the surrounding area.
• Distress Centre Ottawa and Region 24/7 (English)
  • Call: 613-238-3311
• First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness Help Line 24/7 (Services & resources available in English, French, Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut)
  • Call: 1-855-242-3310, Live Chat,Posters
• Mental Health Crisis Line (24 hours a day/7 days a week)
  • Call: 613-722-6914 or if outside Ottawa toll-free at 1-866-996-0991

• Native Women's Association of Canada
  • COVID-19 Elder Support - For First Nations, Inuit and Métis women, girls, and gender-diverse peoples
• Talk4Healing - For Indigenous women
  • Call or text: 1-855-554-HEAL / Live Chat
  • Services offered in English, Oji-Cree, Cree, Algonquin, Inuktitut, Mohawk, Oneida, Odawa, Potawatomi, Micmac, Black Foot, Anishinaabe, Moose Cree, Swampy Cree
• Wabano 
  • Wabano Mental Wellness Team provides holistic and culturally relevant services to Indigenous individuals and families. 

Mental Health Resources

• AFN Mental Wellness Resources - Assembly of First Nations (English only)
  • Mental Wellness and COVID-19: Tips and Considerations
• First Nations Health Authority
  • The Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health (Dr. Nel Wieman, video, English)
First Peoples Wellness Circle Resources
• For Community
• For Parents and Children
• For Elders and Seniors
• For Health Professionals
• Mental Health and COVID-19 - Ottawa Public Health  (English & French)

• National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health
  • Voices from the Field - Supporting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples Mental Health & Well-Being During COVId-19 (Dr. Chris Mushquash, podcast, English only)
• Thunderbird Partnership Foundation
  • Balancing work-life expectations during COVID-19
  • Harm reduction during COVID-19
  • Homelessness during COVID-19
  • Hope during COVID-19
  • Managing safe alcohol use during COVID-19
  • Managing withdrawal during COVID-19
  • Online resources for substance use disorders during COVID-19
  • Safe cannabis use during COVID-19
  • Staying connected to the culture without the sweat lodge during COVID-19
  • Stigma during COVID-19
  • Supporting youth and preventing boredom during COVID-19

Resources 

• How to support your child’s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic - School Mental Health Ontario (English and French) 
• Keeping Moms and Babies Safe During COVID-19 - Thunderbird Partnership Foundation (English only)
• Mental Wellness During COVID-19 – For Parents and Children - First Peoples Wellness Circle (English only)
• Resources for Those Pregnant and Parenting During COVID-19 webpage - Ottawa Public Health (English and French)

Resources  

• Ottawa's Health is in Your hands - Ottawa Public Health (English and French)
• Reduce the spread of COVID-19. Wash your hands - Government of Canada (available in Inuktitut, Michif, Mi’kmaq, Ojibwe, Oji-Cree)
• Stop the Spread of Germs: Keep Your Hands Clean - Ottawa Public Health (English and French)

• Indigenous Language Posters: “Wash Your Hands” - Artwork by Colleen Gray, available in 21 languages for download at the Art for Aid Project.

• Wash Your hands - Government of Nunavut (Inuktitut and English)

If you or your family are in need of a cloth mask and you cannot afford one, the City’s Human Needs Task Force can help! If you live in Ottawa call 3-1-1 or email the HNTF@ottawa.ca to find out how to get one.

Fact Sheets

• Safely Wearing a Cloth Mask - Ottawa Public Health (Algonquin, Inuktitut, and Michif)
• Practice Physical Distancing, Wear a Mask - Ottawa Public Health (English with Algonquin, Inuktitut, and Michif) 
• By-law Mask Required poster with a heading in multiple languages, including Inuktitut is available to print and post in public spaces  (a bilingual version is also available) - Ottawa Public Health
• Masks webpage - Ottawa Public Health

Posters

• Practice Physical Distancing, Wear a Mask - Ottawa Public Health (English with Algonquin, Inuktitut, and Michif) 
• Maintain Physical Distance from Others - Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (Inuktitut and English)
• Protect elders by staying away. Call or visit through the window instead - Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (Inuktitut and English)
• Allow children to play only with children from within their own household - Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (Inuktitut and English)

Videos  

• Covid-19 What 2m Looks Like - Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (Inuktitut and English)
• Physical Distancing - Stop the Spread of COVID-19 in Indigenous Communities - Indigenous Services Canada (English, also available in Mohawk, Michif, Mi'kmaq, Ojibwe, Oji-Cree, Stoney and Inuktitut)

Resources

Cree

• Self-Isolation Handout – Close Contacts
• Self-Isolation Handout – Health Workers
• Self-Isolation Handout – Tested
• Self-Isolation Handout – Not Tested

Inuktitut

• Self-Isolation Handout – Close Contacts
• Self-Isolation Handout – Health Workers
• Self-Isolation Handout – Tested
• Self-Isolation Handout – Not Tested
• If you have been told to self-isolate, don’t leave home, and no visitors allowed - Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (Inuktitut and English)

• Grandpa’s Wisdom – An Algonquin Reflection on West Nile Virus and Lyme Disease by Albert Dumont (English, Algonquin, and French) (pdf 11 MB) - To purchase copies of this story please contact the author, Mr. Albert Dumont at turtlemoons13@yahoo.com (www.albertdumont.com).

For information about  West Nile Virus:

• Ottawa Public Health website
• Ottawa Public Health West Nile virus factsheet (pdf)

For information about Lyme Disease: 

• Ottawa Public Health website
• Ottawa Public Health Lyme disease factsheet (pdf)

Resources

• COVID-19 Door Signage for Child Care Centres (English and Inuktitut)  
• Elevator Etiquette - Ottawa Public Health (Algonquin, Inuktitut, and Michif)
• Employee Screening Questionnaire - Ottawa Public Health (Algonquin, Inuktitut, and Michif)
• Workplaces and Businesses COVID-19 Information webpage - Ottawa Public Health