June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada. It's an opportunity to celebrate and honour the rich cultures, histories, and contributions of Indigenous Peoples across Canada.
At BCCNM we remain committed in our work to dismantle Indigenous-specific racism in the health-care system. We raise our hands to the many Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers, leaders, consultants, families, and communities who continue to guide us in this important work.
One of the important ways we do this is by creating learning resources to support nurses and midwives to understand and apply the Indigenous Cultural Safety, Cultural Humility, and Anti-racism practice standard.
Internally we do this by our commitment to a continuous learning and unlearning journey, and by applying the 3 core practices of the True Reconciliation Framework by Puglaas, Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould (Kwakwaka'wakw from We Wai Kai Nation): Learn, Understand, and Act.
Later this month, BCCNM will publish the new Redressing Harm to Indigenous Peoples in the Health-care System – Relational Accountability plan. We're introducing the concept of relational accountability in this year's plan. This means moving beyond simply acknowledging past wrongs; it's about building genuine, ongoing relationships with Indigenous communities. It requires us to be accountable to Indigenous Peoples, ensuring their voices and needs guide our actions. The updated Redress plan will continue to guide our work to address, constructively disrupt, and effectively dismantle systemic Indigenous-specific racism, with an overall goal to set right historical harms to which B.C. health regulators have contributed.
We encourage you to take the time to actively learn about the land you live on, the First Peoples of those lands and territories, the languages, governance systems, and stewardship. You can also learn more about National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day here.