Health workers Alliance for Palestine Supports the Two Indigenous Women on the Freedom Flotilla Coalition Women’s Boat to Break the Siege on Gaza Physician Dr. Suzanne Shoush and Mskwaasin Agnew

September 15, 2025

The Health workers Alliance for Palestine (HAP) affirms its full support for Dr. Suzanne Shoush, an Indigenous and Black physician from Turtle Island (Canada) and outreach worker and harm reduction practitioner Mskwaasin Agnew (Cree/Dene, Salt River First Nation) who have joined the humanitarian flotilla  to break the illegal siege of Gaza and create a humanitarian corridor.

Health workers across the globe have consistently raised the alarm about the deliberate and systematic destruction of Gaza’s health system. Hospitals have been destroyed, medical personnel abducted, tortured and murdered, and access to medicines and essential supplies deliberately denied. The United Nations has classified Israel’s actions as “Medicide”. 

For physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals, the denial of care on such a scale constitutes a weaponization of disease and illness in service of genocide, and a profound desecration of the sanctity of life and health.

Dr. Shoush and Makwaasin’s participation exemplifies the ethical commitment of health and community workers to defend life and dignity and carry the weight of their identity as Indigenous women. The histories of colonial violence endured by First Nations on Turtle Island—forced starvation, systemic dispossession, colonial erasure, destruction of knowledge and kinship systems, and genocide—resonate with the present experiences of Palestinians. Their presence on the Flotilla is an act of global Indigenous solidarity.

Furthermore, HAP is aware of the heightened risk of state violence faced by Indigenous and racialized people when they confront colonial power, as seen with Chris Smalls on the Handala Flotilla and recognizes the same risks face Dr.  Shoush and Mskwaasin. As healers and community defenders, Dr. Shoush and Mskwaasin have taken this step with courage and care. HAP stands firmly beside them and fully supports them—amplifying their voices as they embark on the journey to break the illegal siege of Gaza.

Indigenous Peoples Stand with the Palestinians

The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has repeatedly called for solidarity with Palestinians, most recently through Resolution 98/2024, Solidarity with Palestine and Palestinian Self-Determination, which urged Canada to recognize Palestinian statehood, impose sanctions and arms embargo on Israel, and act to end the blockade.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has already found it plausible that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide. Canada, as a State Party to the Genocide Convention, has an obligation not only to refrain from complicity but to actively prevent genocide. Canada has also enshrined its commitments to Indigenous rights through the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which requires action in defense of Indigenous Peoples worldwide:

Canada is complicit in the Genocide of Palestinian People by failing to:

• Uphold its obligations under the Genocide Convention and act immediately to prevent further atrocities;
• Support international efforts to break the illegal blockade of Gaza and ensure the safe passage of humanitarian flotillas;
• Implement the demands of AFN Resolution 98/2024, including sanctions and a two way arms embargoes against Israel;
• Fulfill its commitments under UNDRIP by standing with Indigenous Palestinians in their struggle for survival and self-determination.

Quote from HAP:

“As health workers, our responsibility is to defend life. The illegal blockade of Gaza has created one of the most egregious yet totally preventable catastrophes of our time. We are witnessing a genocide of the Palestinian people, while our governments violate international law to provide military support and diplomatic cover to Israel. We stand with Dr. Suzanne Shoush and Mskwaasin Agnew and all humanitarian workers who risk their safety to uphold the right to health, dignity, and freedom. Canada must fulfill its obligations under international law and act now to end its complicity from Turtle Island to Palestine”

The Health workers Alliance for Palestine will continue to mobilize health workers across Canada and internationally to demand an immediate end to the illegal siege on Gaza, the genocide of the Palestinian people and the targeting of Gaza healthcare facilities and health workers. HAP stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people, calling for an end to occupation and apartheid, and for justice and the liberation of Palestine.

In Solidarity, 

Health Workers Alliance for Palestine