All posts by Odette Auger

Odette Auger moved to the traditional territories of the toq qaymɩxʷ (Klahoose) in 1999. She has worked with island youth as facilitator in local programming for 17 years, and works as Program support for Tides Canada Initiatives project Indigeneyez. She started working with Cortes Radio in 2013, fundraising and project management. Writing and producing for Deep Roots gave an outlet for Odette’s storytelling skills, and a lasting love of the listening, story gathering, and collaborative process. She is one of the Cortes Currents producers for the Cortes Radio 2020 Local Journalism Initiative Grant.
Community, Indigenous Nations

Interrupting anti-Indigenous racism

the Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

What do you want to see change to stop anti-Indigenous racism? This is a question that Rain Daniels has been asked since the early nineties. Her answer remains the same. “These issues need to be taken seriously,” she says.

Continue reading Interrupting anti-Indigenous racism →
Health, Indigenous Nations

Virtual mental health service improves access

the Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

COVID19 has people at home, with less frequent opportunities for connection. The isolation increases when it is compounded with the stigma of substance use or mental health issues.

“In many cases, underlying chronic, severe trauma is related to substance use and during these dual public health emergencies it becomes even more important to increase mental health and wellness supports for BC First Nations people,” explains Dr. Nel Wieman, First Nations Health Authority’s (FNHA) acting deputy chief medical officer.

In B.C., 261 people have died of COVID-19. As of Sept. 30, 2020, 1202 people have died from overdose in the province this year. 

In response to this combined crisis, the FNHA accelerated their plans to launch a virtual substance use and psychiatry service.  

Continue reading Virtual mental health service improves access →
Education, Indigenous Nations

Aboriginal Head Start (AHS), childhood programs for Indigenous kids

Editor’s note: On Vancouver Island – There are AHS preschools in Campbell River and Courtenay, as well as approved projects in Courtenay and Nanaimo. There are also numerous AHS preschools on the Mainland.

the Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Lily Patzer speaks with enthusiasm as she talks about Aboriginal Head Start [AHS] — a program that she’s been involved with for twenty-five years. 

Continue reading Aboriginal Head Start (AHS), childhood programs for Indigenous kids →
Health, Indigenous Nations

First Nations grapple with COVID-19

the Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

As of July 31, the percentage of First Nations individuals living on reserve reported positive for COVID-19 was one-quarter of the rate of the general Canadian population, according to Indigenous Services Canada (ISC). “The work that communities have done, to ensure the safety of their citizens, of their Elders and of their communities generally has been phenomenal,” says Dr. Shannon McDonald, who is the Chief Medical Officer at the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA). McDonald is Metis and Anishinabe, and introduces herself as a guest on Tsawout territory. But as COVID-19 cases continue to increase across B.C., several First Nations have also announced increasing numbers of positive COVID-19 cases.

Continue reading First Nations grapple with COVID-19 →
Indigenous Nations, Justice, Women

Lil Red Dress Project supports MMIWG

Editor’s note: Carla Voyageur, who many Cortes Radio listeners remember from the first season of Deep Roots Project, was one of the founders of the Lil Red Dress project.

the Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

As people scroll their Facebook and Instagram feeds today they may see an ad about a missing person, Raymona Peter. Peter went missing on Sept. 30 from Sooke, B.C., in the middle of a week of Red Dress awareness campaigns.

Continue reading Lil Red Dress Project supports MMIWG →