The 12th annual Aboriginal Gathering on Diabetes is took place in Prince Albert on Wednesday.
The event is put on by the Canadian Diabetes Association and aims to provide diabetes education and support for the Aboriginal community.
This year’s theme is debunking Diabetes myths.
Brie Hnetka with the CDA says a common myth among Aboriginal communities is that they are going to get the disease and there is nothing they can do about it.
“What we want to get out there is that there is something they can do to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes,” said Hnetka. “Also, if they do get diabetes what can you do to live well with the disease and we want to make sure that message gets out.”
Henetka says the Aboriginal population is 3 to 5 times more likely to get diabetes.
Marylin Morin is an Aboriginal elder and was diagnosed with the disease when she was younger. She says when she was first diagnosed there wasn’t much support for Aboriginal people with diabetes. However, Morin does say the amount of education and support on the issue has increased over the years. The elder does say there is still more work to be done.
“Our people do not always have the resources, especially the people in the north,” said Morin. “I think the more people who know more about diabetes can take that back to our communities and get involved with teaching our people.”
Nearly 150 people attended today’s gathering.