Waterloo Region opens second Indigenous vaccine clinic

Second Indigenous vaccine clinic opens From CTV Kitchener's Stephanie Villella: A second pop-up vaccination clinic allows Indigenous people get vaccines in a culturally appropriate setting.

KITCHENER — Drumming and a smudge ceremony kicked off the opening of Waterloo Region’s second pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic for the Indigenous community on Wednesday.

The clinic at Regional Headquarters, located at 150 Frederick St. in Kitchener, is hosted by The Healing of the Seven Generations and KW Urban Native Wigwam Project.

“The Healing of the Seven Generations works with First Nations, Métis and Inuit community members and their families to deal with the effects of the residential school, through traditional approaches of healing,” said Donna Dubie, Executive Director for The Healing of the Seven Generations, in a news release.

The pop-up clinic is for First Nation, Métis and Inuit residents who want to receive their COVID-19 vaccine in a safe place. Organizers say there is vaccine hesitancy for Indigenous people based on past traumas with Canada’s medical history.

An Indigenous elder will be at the site to support community members.

On Wednesday, 150 people are expected to get their dose. The clinic will run until all those in the Indigenous community who want a vaccine receive both doses

The region’s first pop-up site opened at 236 Woodhaven Rd. in Kitchener last week and ran for two days.

"I'm excited to a certain degree, but I'm very nervous, my anxiety is very high," Dubie said prior to getting her vaccine. "We're putting our trust in the health-care system."

Dubie said that trust hasn't always been there.

"Because of the past, the histories with our people," she said.

Dubie's late father attended residential school. She said vaccines were often tested on Indigenous people, leading to health issues and even deaths.

"I can feel him saying that he's not going to put that stuff in his body," Dubie said. "My father's been gone for a long time, but I can still feel the ancestors with their hands on my shoulder, holding me back."

"It's been historically shown that Indigenous people have been experimented on with a lot of medical procedures, from the testing of vaccines to sterilization, to so many other things that have done irreparable harm to our people," said Leeann Hundt with the KW Urban Native Wigwam Project.

Hundt got her shot last week and said it was a difficult decision.

"Getting to my car afterwards, there was a moment I needed my medicines, I needed to acknowledge what I had done," she said. "It wasn't easy."

She said having a culturally appropriate space is important for Indigenous people getting the vaccine.

"The sound of the drumming can take anybody from an anxious situation to a calm sense," Hundt said.

Dubie said she wants to get vaccinated to protect herself and her community.

"We have to believe that there's good intentions and that this is a good thing for our community," she said.

With reporting by CTV News Kitchener's Stephanie Villella