The report, The treaty right to health: A sacred obligation responds to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Call to Action 18, which among other things, calls on all levels of government to “recognize and implement the health-care rights of Aboriginal people as identified in international law, constitutional law, and under the Treaties.” The authors contribute to a deeper understanding of one piece of a much larger puzzle – the Treaty right to health.

The authors examine the Treaty right to health in the context of promises made by the federal government (both written and verbal) to First Nations peoples in relation to the historic numbered Treaties in Canada, including the “medicine chest clause.” A brief review of the concept of the Treaty right to health situates First Nations health in relation to wellness and well-being. Three critically important dimensions of the Treaty right to health are discussed including: promises made as part of the treaties, the constitutional protection of Treaty and Aboriginal Rights to health, and the ongoing denial of the Treaty right to health. Following this, the importance of the Treaty right to health and the implementation of Treaty promises for reconciliation, the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous self-determination, and the Nation-to-Nation relationship are each outlined.

• Read or download The treaty right to health: A sacred obligation (PDF).