First Nations leaders with Nokiiwin Tribal Council encourage people to get their COVID-19 vaccines

As the COVID-19 vaccination campaign continues for the Indigenous population in northwestern Ontario, a group of First Nations leaders have issued a video on Friday encouraging people to get their shot as soon as they can.

The video titled "A Message for our Future" included the chiefs of all five First Nations that are served by the Nokiiwin Tribal Council.

A common theme that ran through each of their messages: listen to the science and please get vaccinated.

The chief of Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg (Pic Mobert), Johanna Desmoulin said it's "understandable to be afraid," comparing the situation to building a house.

"I'm going to say I know how a house looks, but I don't know how to build it, so I'm going to have to trust the carpenter. The same thing with the vaccine, you have to believe the scientists."

Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins added, "quit reading that propaganda that you're reading on Facebook, listen to the professionals."

The Nokiiwin Tribal Council's executive director Audrey Gilbeau said the video was part of a coordinated effort to address some of the vaccine hesitancy that continues.

"There's a lot of misinformation, especially on social media about getting vaccinated."

Speaking about the message in the video, Gilbeau said, "we all need to do this for each other. We need to do this for our community. We need to do this for our children so I thought it was a very positive message that our leadership put forward."

She added each of the five First Nations have already held at least one vaccination clinic, and they are working on scheduling additional clinics as well.

Matawa expands eligibility for Thunder Bay vaccination clinic

Meanwhile the COVID-19 vaccination clinic hosted by the Matawa Health Co-operative announced additional dates and expanded eligibility.

The clinic is now open to all urban Indigenous people living in Thunder Bay aged 18 years or older and family members living in the same household. Members of the vulnerable population are being prioritized by the clinic.

The additional dates for the clinic are April 21 to 23.

Previously, the clinic was only open to "high-risk Matawa First Nation members who reside in Thunder Bay" with a priority for vulnerable Matawa members.

Matawa's clinic joins the Mindimooyenh Vaccination Clinic a partnership between the Ontario Native Women's Association (ONWA), Dilico Anishinabek Family Care and the Thunder Bay District Health Unit that launched earlier in March in offering COVID-19 vaccines to the urban Indigenous population in the city.