The average life expectancy of First Nations people in British Columbia fell by more than six years between 2017 and 2021, according to a report released Wednesday by the First Nations Health Authority and the Office of the Provincial Health Officer.
According to the report, life expectancy for Indigenous people in British Columbia fell from 73.3 years in 2017 to 67.2 years in 2021. Life expectancy for First Nations men fell by 6.8 years and for women fell by 5.2 years, for an overall decline of 6.1 years, the report said.
“This life expectancy data is clearly heartbreaking,” said Dr. Daniele Behn Smith, the province’s deputy health officer for Indigenous health, at a news conference. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Dr. Nel Wieman, chief health officer for the First Nations Health Authority, said the decline was largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid overdose crisis in the province.
Wieman said the report shows that Indigenous people have been hit harder by the dual health crisis than other populations. It also highlights the ongoing gaps in British Columbia’s health care system.
“We are not yet where we need to be”
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the report shows a “modest improvement” but “we are not yet where we should be.”
She said the data in the report will help show where BC stands and where it needs to go in terms of First Nations health and well-being.
Dr. Bonnie Henry is pictured at a First Nations Health Authority press conference in Vancouver, BC, on Aug. 21, 2024. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Wieman said the data would help First Nations chiefs and health leaders advocate for change.
“These are people who are trying to live their lives right now despite all the challenges, and the data also points to people who have lost their lives … who are missing from our dinner tables and ceremonies – generations of people are affected,” Wieman said.
She said the report found an improvement in high school graduation rates among First Nations students and a decline in child mortality among Indigenous people, but when it comes to the number of doctors in British Columbia, only 0.39 percent of doctors identify as First Nations.
She said that despite increasing graduation rates among First Nations youth, the education system must create an environment in which young Indigenous people can consider a career in medicine.
Behn Smith added that there has been no recent improvement in the proportion of doctors in BC who identify as First Nations.
“It is clear that we cannot do this alone,” she said.
Working together: Seeing with two eyes
Wednesday’s report updates monitoring of First Nations health and wellness indicators conducted from 2020 to 2030 and follows the release of a 2021 report.
Henry described the report as a “two-eyed view” that incorporated Western medicine and approaches as well as Indigenous knowledge and perspectives.
“We’re taking the best of the Western world and the best of Indigenous knowledge and our ways of knowing and living and holding them up equally,” Henry said. “And that helps us understand a broader perspective on what makes people vibrant, healthy communities and individuals – that’s good for all of us.”
