Supports Indigenous communities as they respond to COVID-19
February 12, 2021 — UM Today News
A groundbreaking app created by University of Manitoba researchers in close collaboration with Indigenous partners will help support Indigenous communities around the world as they act to caretake their own health and well-being.The COVID-19 Indigenous app facilitates community responses, recovery, and resiliency. It is grounded in Indigenous cultures and values of knowing, being and doing. Through the app, questions are posed that are critical for understanding and acting on the emotional, spiritual, mental and physical health of participating community members.
The COVID-19 Indigenous app (available on iOS and Android) has been designed to be easily adapted to the diverse needs and priorities of individual communities while adhering to the principles of data sovereignty and community ownership, control, access and possession of information. No one outside of any given community will have access to these data without their express permission.
“We know that one-size-fits-all does not work for Indigenous communities,” says Dr. Myrle Ballard, a University of Manitoba researcher from Lake St. Martin First Nation in Manitoba. She is one of the co-leads on the COVID-19 Indigenous app initiative.
