Transforming Indigenous Risk Reduction & Emergency Response

Indigenous people in Saskatchewan have voiced criticism about their evacuation experiences, citing problems such as inadequate accommodations, family members being separated, youth being targeted in cities by drug dealers and gangs, and girls and women being vulnerable to sexual exploitation and assault. Including Indigenous voices and perspectives is key to disaster risk reduction, and can be an act of reconciliation. 

In this recently-funded project, Dr. Tait and other researchers will work alongside partners including Métis Nation-Saskatchewan and FSIN to transform emergency response in First Nations and Métis communities. This research will also help emergency response planners better meet the needs of Elders, women, girls, and gender-diverse people with training and support, particularly at evacuation sites and during COVID-19 restrictions. 

Project activities include:

• interviewing people with lived experience of evacuation and social isolating, particularly girls, women and 2SLGBTTQQIA+ people who have experienced evacuation or social isolating
• developing and pilot-testing online gender- and cultural safety curriculum for training of emergency response teams, organizations and governments that work with First Nations and Métis populations
• providing support in the community and at evacuation sites; and
• identifying and supporting First Nations and Métis people to learn transferable skills for emergency response roles.

Funded by the TD Bank Group: The TD Ready Challenge

See the USask Press Release here. 

Our webinar series aims to bring together students, academics, practitioners, and decision-makers to meet, share and learn about diverse issues in, and impacts of disaster response. Join us to learn about Indigenous experiences of evacuations from floods and fires, with practical lessons and theoretical implications for resilience.

Recordings from past webinars are available on Youtube.

Webinar #1 - Empowering global and local Indigenous capacities in emergency management and disaster risk reduction

Watch our first webinar with Dr. Lilia Yumagulova and Dr. Simon Lambert, who presented on the transformative Indigenous capacities that are contributing to self-determination through community-led emergency management and disaster recovery.

Webinar #2 - First Nations Fire and Emergency Management in Saskatchewan

 For our second webinar, Michelle Vandevord (President, Aboriginal Firefighters Association of Canada; Associate Director, Saskatchewan First Nations Emergency Management) speaks to her experiences as an Indigenous woman firefighter on-reserve and in Saskatchewan, and answers some questions from participants.

Our work is guided by a think tank comprised of researchers, practitioners, First Nations and Metis Elders, knowledge holders, and Indigenous persons with lived experience of evacuation. The think tank will focus on issues of gender diversity and cultural safety in the context of sheltering during an emergency evacuation.

Building on the think tank model used in IIHRTC's organ donation and transplantation research, our think tank will drive the generation of research questions, guide the development of education and training materials, and engage with professionals and practitioners through invited presentations.