Let's talk about . . . culturally safe care

With Sept. 30 fresh on my mind, I am asking a question that sits heavily across healthcare: how to proceed with reconciliation? First, there is an immense task that cannot be denied: learning about our past and that of those we claim to provide care to. Regardless of our affinity with history, we cannot justify ignorance about where we come from and what transpired that led us to where we are today. I was born in Quebec in 1980. When it came to equality and being accepting of differences, the indigenous population of my youth didn’t seem to be part of the conversation. Nor was I taught much about the land’s history. The lessons I remember relayed to famous battles between French and English armies, with a side note to which indigenous nations were on either side. Outside a school trip to the Huron Village and a visit of indigenous youth in traditional outfits to my high school, I remember little exposure to native culture over all the years of my public education. Of course, I must have forgotten some of the material covered, but I genuinely doubt the curriculum covered the darker aspects of our past. Fast forward to this decade and we are starting to see a revised curriculum in BC’s schools, which should ensure youth are taught a more complete rendition of our history. I hope this trend is seen in all provinces because without this knowledge, the task of reconciliation is daunting. At the root of my challenge with reconciliation is the fact that I opt to see the good in people and that makes me naïve to humanity’s capacity to perpetuate harm. While I continue to recognize that the treatment of everyone has generally been poor over the centuries, I am starting to shed my ignorance and see that some peoples in this country had worst experiences than the rest. Indigenous nations across Canada have experienced a disproportionate amount of hurt. For well over a century, residential schools tore families apart and scraped culture and language away year after year. The Sixties Scoop caused much harm too, once again interfering with the family unit. Policy created for the sole purpose of assimilating, the “Indian Act,” has prevented previously self-sustaining and self-governing peoples to prosper in a changing world. Trauma caused over all those long years carved deep scars, impacting generations to this day. And despite our commitment as an industry to equality and non-discrimination, institutional racism is still present amongst us, affecting trust in the “system” and a willingness to seek care. How can we provide culturally safe care if we are unaware of this past? How can we ask those who have been betrayed by policy to trust the healthcare system if we don’t take the time to educate ourselves first? While reconciliation cannot happen without facing unpleasant truths, it’s not about allocating blame. Rather, it emphasizes responsibility. All living on “Turtle Island” share this. To guide us, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission put forth many calls to action across many sectors, including our own. As healthcare providers, we must take the time to reflect and educate ourselves so we can respond adequately. In BC, the College of Pharmacists has implemented indigenous learning requirements. This is meant to educate our workforce so we are better equipped to provide culturally safe care in our communities. The learning requirement is just the first step to individual journeys, highlighting the fact that our education is incomplete. While many among us interact daily with community members who identify as Indigenous, we often know very little about their rich culture and their lands’ history. Seeking out the missing pieces is our responsibility. Where I reside, a program by kinSHIFT and the South Okanagan Similkameen Community Foundation called “Table Talks” has offered me an opportunity to learn how to work towards reconciliation. I encourage you to engage in similar material to facilitate a meaningful journey. Today, I acknowledge that this communication was written on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan people, whose past I am committed to learn about, and whose culture I wish to familiarize myself with.

Let's talk about . . . culturally safe care

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Selena Despres

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