The Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay (CBHSSJB) is responsible for delivering health and social services in the

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

territory of Northern

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. The Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay comes from the

James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (french: Convention de la Baie-James et du Nord québécois) is an Aboriginal land claim settlement, approved in 1975 by the Cree and Inuit of northern Quebec, and later slightly modified in 1978 by th ...

that was settled between the Cree, Inuit, Quebec government and Federal government. The Cree are one of Canada's

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

. The CBHSSJB presently has a regional hospital centre and nine clinics spread over a geographic area similar in size to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Clinics offer emergency and family medicine and are called Community Miyupimaatisiiun Centres. Miyupimaatisiuun (literally "being alive well) is the Eastern James Bay Cree word for health. All CMCs have permanent medical staff. The CBHSSJB has a Public Health Department with the mandate of preventing disease and protecting, measuring and promoting the health of the population. One of the most important challenges facing the Department is an

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious ...

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

and

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

in the Cree population. Community outreach is strengthened through partnering with other researchers and institutions for research such as the 2018 study by Noreen Willows, Louise Johnson-Down, Jean-Claude Moubarac, Michel Lucas, Elizabeth Robinson & Malek Bata, ''Factors associated with the intake of traditional foods in the Eeyou Istchee (Cree) of northern Quebec include age, speaking the Cree language and food sovereignty indicators''. Partnering in diabetes research dates back to the 1990s. Some of this research has led to the discovery of Awashishinic Acid, a compound in the Cree traditional diet that prevents diabetes. The CBHSSJB operates youth group homes in Chisasibi and

Mistissini Mistissini ( cr, ᒥᔅᑎᓯᓃ/Mistisinî meaning Big Rock) is a Cree town located in the south-east corner of the largest natural lake in Quebec, Lake Mistassini. The town is inside the boundaries of the Baie-James Municipality and is the ...

and a regional youth rehabilitation centre in Mistissini. CBHSSJB is also a small press that publishes indigenous-focussed health materials, such as diabetes pamphlets and Indigenous health-focussed books: two of many examples are ''The Sweet Bloods of the Eeyou Istchee: Stories of Diabetes and the James Bay Cree'', ''The gift of healing : health problems and their treatments'' (out of print).

History

The Cree Health Board was created in 1978 in the wake of the signing of the

between the Quebec Cree and the Government of Quebec in 1975. Part of this

land claim A land claim is defined as "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, A ...

agreement deals with health. Under the agreement the Crees were entitled to the same health services as other Quebecers and Canadians, but they wanted to run their own health services in their own language and in a way which would incorporate traditional values and a Cree ethos.

References

External links

* Website of the CBHSSJB http://www.creehealth.org * Official Facebook page of the CBHSSJB http://www.facebook.com/creehealth * Twitter of the CBHSSJB https://twitter.com/creehealth {{authority control First Nations in Quebec First Nations governments in Quebec Cree Eeyou Istchee (territory)