The National Aboriginal Health Organization (NAHO) (french: Organisation nationale de la santé autochtone (ONSA), link=no, iu, ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᓄᓇᖃᖅᑳᖅᓯᒪᔪᓄᑦ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᕐᓇᖕᒋᓐᓂᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᑲᑐᔾᔨᕐᑲᑎᖐᑦ) was an Aboriginal-designed and -controlled not-for-profit body in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

that worked to influence and advance the health and well-being of Aboriginal Peoples. The organization's funding was eliminated as part of the

2012 Canadian federal budget The Canadian federal budget for fiscal year 2012–13 was presented to the House of Commons of Canada by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on 29 March 2012. Among the most notable elements of the federal budget were changes to Old Age Security and ...

and NAHO ceased operations on June 30, 2012. Incorporated in 2000, NAHO received core funding from

Health Canada Health Canada (HC; french: Santé Canada, SC)Health Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Health (). is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for national health poli ...

to undertake knowledge-based activities such as education, research and knowledge dissemination. With Aboriginal communities as its primary focus, NAHO used both traditional Aboriginal and contemporary Western healing and wellness approaches. NAHO defined "Aboriginal Peoples" using the Canadian

Constitution Act, 1982 The ''Constitution Act, 1982'' (french: link=no, Loi constitutionnelle de 1982) is a part of the Constitution of Canada.Formally enacted as Schedule B of the ''Canada Act 1982'', enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 60 of t ...

, sections 25 and 35, to consist of three groups – Indian (

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 ...

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territorie ...

, and

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United State ...

. Its main objectives were to improve and promote Aboriginal health, understanding of health issues affecting Aboriginal Peoples and research, foster participation of Aboriginal Peoples in delivery of health care, and affirm and protect Aboriginal traditional healing practices.

Structure

NAHO was governed by a Board of Directors made up of 13 directors, 8 of which were appointed by:

Congress of Aboriginal Peoples The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) (formerly the Native Council of Canada and briefly the Indigenous Peoples Assembly of Canada), founded in 1971, is a national Canadian aboriginal organization, that represents Aboriginal peoples ( Non-Sta ...

, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the

Métis National Council The Métis National Council (french: Ralliement national des Métis) is the representative body of the Métis people of northwestern Canada. The MNC represents the Métis Nation both nationally and internationally, receiving direction from the ele ...

, and

Native Women's Association of Canada The Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC; french: Association des femmes autochthones du Canada, nolink=yes FAC is a national Indigenous organization representing the political voice of Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people in ...

. An additional five board members were elected by the 10 appointed board members. NAHO was subdivided into three centres – the First Nations Centre, the Inuit Tuttarvingat (formerly known as the Ajunnginiq Centre), and the Métis Centre. They advanced health and well-being by focusing on the distinct needs of their respective populations and promoting culturally relevant approaches to health care.

Activities

NAHO had a number of projects that addressed Aboriginal health care issues including

suicide prevention Suicide prevention is a collection of efforts to reduce the risk of suicide. Suicide is often preventable, and the efforts to prevent it may occur at the individual, relationship, community, and society level. Suicide is a serious public health ...

, healthy living,

midwifery Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many ...

, and traditional health and healing. It also publishes research on its Web site, and presents at a number of conferences related to Aboriginal health.

''Journal of Aboriginal Health''

The ''Journal of Aboriginal Health'' is a

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...

open-access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...

medical journal A medical journal is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that communicates medical information to physicians, other health professionals. Journals that cover many medical specialties are sometimes called general medical journals. History The fi ...

on Aboriginal health published by the National Aboriginal Health Organization of Canada. It was established in 2004 and publishes original research, editorials, and suggestions for further reading. Each issue of the journal has a guest editor who solicits appropriate papers from a variety of perspectives.

References

External links

*
Honouring Life Network
{{Authority control Indigenous organizations in Canada Indigenous health in Canada Medical and health organizations based in Canada Defunct organizations based in Canada Organizations disestablished in 2012 Organizations established in 2000 2000 establishments in Canada Public health organizations

Structure

Activities

''Journal of Aboriginal Health''

See also

References

External links