On April 10, 2026, we recognize and celebrate Indigenous Nurses Day in British Columbia — a day to honour the contributions, leadership, and lasting impact of Indigenous nurses across the province.
Indigenous Nurses Day is celebrated in honour of Charlotte Edith Anderson Monture, a Kanien’kehá:ka woman, who was Canada's first Indigenous nurse. Edith struggled to be accepted to a Canadian nursing school as Indigenous people faced forced enfranchisement for pursuing higher education. Instead, she studied in New York, where she completed her degree in 1914. She worked as a public health nurse and volunteered for duty as a nursing sister in World War I, eventually returning to Six Nations where she continued to work as a nurse and midwife until the 1960s.
In addition, it is also the day to recognize Rose Casper, a member of the St'át’imc Nation and the first Indigenous nurse in Western Canada. Rose, a survivor of the Kamloops Indian Residential School, graduated from the St. Josephs School of Nursing in Victoria in 1955. Rose was a nurse in her home community of Tsal'álh (Shalalth) in St'at'imcets for more than 50 years. To honour her profound legacy, the Rose Casper Healing Centre was opened in Tsal'álh in 2003 and is still operating today.
These are only two examples of the many Indigenous nurses that are trailblazers within health care and bring invaluable traditional knowledge, lived experience, and leadership to health care, strengthening services, providing culturally safe care, and supporting better outcomes for Indigenous communities across British Columbia.
Though there is still lots of work to be done to make health care safe for Indigenous people, we thank the Indigenous nurses in B.C., and across Canada, for your extraordinary work in caring for people and making a difference every day.
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