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One year after investigation, niece of Hugh Papik wants answers

Facebook photoHugh Papik 2016
Hugh Papik, who had suffered a massive stroke at the Aklavik Health Centre, died after his symptoms were dismissed by staff as drunkenness.

When Stephanie Papik recalls the days that followed Aug. 3, 2016, the details are foggy – dulled by trauma and pain. But what – and who – she lost that summer won't soon be forgotten.

“It was shocking, she said. “Very, very terrible.”

With no update from the GNWT health department on how it has adopted third-party recommendations following the 2016 death of Hugh Papik, his niece Stephanie Papik is calling for more “accountability and transparency” from the territorial government to learn “what's actually being done.” photo courtesy of Stephanie Papik.

Papik, an Inuvialuit woman living in British Colombia, learned her uncle Hugh Papik, who had suffered a massive stroke at the Aklavik Health Centre, died after his symptoms were dismissed by staff as drunkenness. Her cousin, Maggie, arrived at the centre to find Hugh lying on the floor. It took hours before he could be transported to Inuvik and then to Yellowknife's Stanton Territorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Hugh Papik's death sparked accusations of racism within the territory's healthcare system and prompted the territorial government's minister of health and social services, Glen Abernethy, to order an external investigation into what the GNWT called a “critical incident.”

In February of last year, following the completion of a probe led by Manitoba physician Marlyn Cook of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, the GNWT released 16 recommendations put forth by Cook. The guidelines included calls for increased representation of Indigenous healthcare workers and for cultural safety training based on an “anti-oppression framework.”

One year later, with no updates from the GNWT on which recommendations have been adopted, Papik wants to know, “what's actually being done?”

“(I want to) try and create some accountability and transparency, which I think is key for any kind of change to happen,” she told News/North.

In conjunction with the GNWT's publishing of the recommendations last year, Abernethy, who vowed to fight “systemic racism” within the healthcare system following the investigation, stated he would be directing departments to review and consider the findings, adding, “We will take action to improve in all areas where we have justification and resources to do so.”

Hugh Papik died in 2016 after suffering a massive stroke.  His symptoms were dismissed by staff at the Aklavik Health Centre as drunkenness.

“To me, that's code for, 'we're not really going to do anything,'” said Papik, adding, “where there's resources depends on what they prioritize.”

“I would like to know what they have implemented in terms of those recommendations, just because I know it's an ongoing issue. The healthcare system is set up to deny care,” she said.

For Papik, the death of her uncle is yet another example of the discrimination Indigenous people face within the healthcare system.

She said her aunt, Hugh's sister, died a number of years ago after being misdiagnosed.

“I've had people, friends who are in Nunavut ... reach out to me and say this happened to their uncle there,” said Stephanie, adding institutional discrimination goes beyond healthcare, as seen with the recent acquittal of a man charged in the death of Colten Boushie.

“I feel a stronger connection to other families who are experiencing systemic and individual discrimination and racism. Even though I don't know them, I feel close because I know how it feels to have a family member not treated like a human being,” she said.

Papik told News/North her dialogue with the GNWT regarding the implementation process has been limited , with most of the information she receives coming second hand from the media.

“They weren't very forthcoming and they never did share the actual report,” she said.

The GNWT made the 16 recommendations public, but the full report from which they came remains guarded.

News/North didn't receive comment from the GNWT Justice department before press time.

While Papik called the structural changes proposed in the recommendations “good,” she said work must also be done on an individual level to address unconscious biases and perceptions about Indigenous people – and to ensure what happened to her uncle doesn't happen again.

“... Education on social, emotional and experiential learning ... where you learn about our shared history through role playing,” she said.

Increased awareness and education, Papik said, would change minds – and “hearts.”

“That kind of shift needs to happen for people to get out of their head and move past unconscious social conditioning.”