The Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic: relational caretaking the community, the land, and culture

This article explores how the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation integrated Indigenous ways of knowing and doing into community and public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. We held six sharing circles and 20 individual interviews with community members and public health responders. Key findings reveal that caretaking involved three major themes: collective responsibility; harmony with culture and tradition; and culture as healing. Data confirm that caretaking the community could not be separated from the land, nature, culture, and Indigenous ways of knowing and doing. Indigenous knowledges and values must be incorporated into health policies and practices for more equitable care in pandemics.