Two-Day Conference Focuses On Indigenous Health

Long Plain First Nation's hosting a large, two-day conference dealing with indigenous health issues.

It began Tuesday morning at Keeshkeemaquah Centre, and continues until Wednesday afternoon.

Long Plain Chief Dennis Meeches says they'll cover a lot of topics.

"I think the big ones are an update on the provincial re-structuring of health services, and shared health services in Manitoba," he says, "Jordan's Principle, the splitting of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, the regional report on mental health initiatives, strategic planning, and the list goes on and on. There's quite a bit of work to be undertaken."

Meeches hopes the conference is the start of improving the indigenous communities' health, but acknowledges they're in for a long haul.

"Just recently, a few weeks ago, we declared a state of emergency within the Dakota-Ojibway Tribal Council," he says, "Because of opioid drug addiction, the rise of crystal meth, so we are facing considerable challenges. And we need to work toward addressing those over the next number of years, to actually work toward levelling off some of the challenges that we're facing."