Two Row Times

Earlier this week the Missisaugas of New Credit First Nations issued a press release about their experiences with McMaster Children’s Hospital and the treatment one of their children experienced during a critical illness. Here is the statement in it’s entirety.

Makayla’s current health status has been brought back into the spotlight during testimony at the court case of another indigenous girl from Six Nations of the Grand River, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in August.

The same doctors who treated Makayla at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario are now pursuing a court ordered apprehension of the second child, also 11 years old from the Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) Nation, Turtle Clan of Six Nations
of the Grand River.

Justice Edwards, the judge hearing the case in Brantford, initially imposed a publication ban at the request of the Six Nations Band Council, but late last week lifted part of the ban permitting media to publish details of the case while keeping the names of the girl and her parents confidential.

The decision to file a court action against the CAS and the parents of the child came after her mother removed her from chemotherapy to pursue a combination of indigenous medicine and alternative therapies.

The Six Nations child’s family clearly articulated to the CAS and the medical team in charge of the child’s care at McMaster Children’s Hospital, that they had another treatment plan in place; including a timeline, a specific course of action that included known remedies, indigenous medicines and alternative therapies – as well as a contingency plan to return the child to chemotherapy if other methods proved a failure.

The child’s mother also notified the child’s family and the Six Nations community at large of her intentions and her course of action through letters to the editor sent to the Two Row Times.

Doctors at McMaster hospital reported the child’s mother, who has twelve children and is an immersion teacher of the Kanien’kehá language, to the Children’s Aid Society for medical neglect.Lawyers for the Children’s Aid Society read an undated letter written by one of the doctors to the CAS in which she states “…it is with grave concern that I report the medical neglect of [the Kanien’kehá:ka girl from Six Nations].”

The doctor who wrote the letter later admitted during the proceedings that she did not believe the child was being medically neglected but that she wanted to “get the attention” of the CAS hoping they would bring the child back to McMaster Children’s Hospital for chemotherapy.

CAS did a thorough investigation of the Six Nations girl’s family and found no medical neglect or other reason to remove the child from her family, noting during the proceedings that they felt it would be “traumatic” for her to be forcibly removed from the family during such a critical illness.

Doctors for McMaster relayed during their testimony that they were “disappointed” and “did not understand” why the CAS did not remove the child from her family and return her to chemotherapy as they were aware of a recent case in Ottawa where the CAS did just that.

Early in the proceedings, one of the doctors stated that she knew of one other case where a First Nations child opted to leave chemotherapy to pursue indigenous medicine. The doctor then stated, under oath, that this child was now experiencing a relapse.

The court room was filled with people from the conjoined communities of Six Nations/New Credit who were shocked and outraged at the statement, knowing that the doctor was referring to Makayla Sault, whose case drew intense media attention earlier this year.

Makayla Sault and her family are well known across Canada and the United States for their First Nations church ministry and according to public knowledge the child is not presenting as unwell.

The Sault family spoke to the Two Row Times and said, “We have been successful at destroying blast cells in her blood which doctors told us can only be done through chemotherapy.” They also relayed that they are continually treating their daughter and that she is healing.

The Sault family and the Missisaugas of New Credit First Nation released a press statement regarding the case over the weekend stating that The Kanien’kehá:ka girl from Six Nations is pursing a similar course of treatment that the Saults did through the Hippocrates Health Institute and is currently experiencing successful results.

Court continued to hear testimony late last week from Andrew Koster of the CAS, Dr. Dawn Martin-Hill and Dr. Karen Hill later in the week to give accounts to the cultural relativity that comes into play when indigenous patients utilize indigenous medicines.

Court resumes this Wednesday in Brantford. tw4emrhUzuU

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