the interconnectedness of intellectual, physical, mental, and emotional health, and how the wellbeing of Indigenous communities in Canada is essential for all living beings and the land.
Mixalhítsa7 Alison Pascal is a passionate Indigenous community leader, educator, and advocate based in British Columbia, Canada. She is a member of the Sk̲wxwú7mesh Úxwumixw and the Líl̓wat7ul Nations, and her career is focused on advancing the rights and interests of Indigenous peoples in her community and beyond. Alison is particularly interested in language revitalization, land stewardship, and cultural preservation and has worked extensively in these areas throughout her career.
Mixalhítsa7's leadership and advocacy work have earned her several awards, including the Order of British Columbia and the Indspire Award, which recognizes outstanding Indigenous achievement in Canada. She has also served on several boards and committees related to Indigenous issues, including the First Peoples' Cultural Council and the Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre. Through her tireless work and dedication to Indigenous rights and cultural preservation, Mixalhítsa7 has become a respected and influential voice in her community and beyond.
“Here in Canada it’s the same thing, we got our own store… it’s a proper grocery store, but often you can’t get a delivery of those healthy foods, because they prioritize the regular grocery stores… You go there and what’s always available, pop and chips and candy, because they don’t prioritise all of that healthier food for us… ok we know it’s bad for them and were going to make it super easy for them to get it. ”
The podcast with Alison Pascal was a heart-wrenching conversation about the historical and current struggles of Indigenous communities in Canada. Pascal spoke about how the Canadian government's intervention in the lives of Indigenous people has caused them to suffer from alcohol consumption, drug use, and poor food management. It was not an accident, but a deliberate choice that resulted in intergenerational trauma affecting their physical and mental health. Pascal shared a story about how immigrant families were starving and freezing, but Indigenous nature helped them survive by teaching them how to farm. However, the Indigenous people were forced to side with the British to fight the French and Spanish, resulting in the loss of their land, which is now a commodity that can be sold. Today, Indigenous people are conditioned to stay inside and are denied access to gathering and foraging, leading to a loss of culture and spiritual connection to the land.
The residential school system, which separated Indigenous children from their parents and land, led to a diet where children worked on school farms but were not allowed to eat the food, resulting in malnutrition and chronic diseases. Pascal questioned if it is possible to reprogram our bodies to not have chronic diseases and suggested the use of ancient medicines to maintain good health. The podcast also highlighted the issue of mental health stigma in Indigenous communities, which is exacerbated by the social aspects that white people see in Indigenous people, such as domestic violence, drug abuse, alcoholism, and gambling. Pascal spoke about the importance of a sustainable program to get kids onto the land to foster their interest in culture and the need for parents to be involved. Indigenous people are part of the land, and the land is part of them, but the spiritual loss has led to an autonomic economy that is split into unfarmable land, affecting their drinking water.
Overall, the podcast highlighted the interconnectedness of intellectual, physical, mental, and emotional health, and how the wellbeing of Indigenous communities in Canada is essential for all living beings and the land. Pascal's emotional testimony left a lasting impact on listeners, calling for immediate action to address the long-standing issues affecting Indigenous people in Canada.