COVER
Bringing
reconciliation into healthcare By Bob Parke n the last weeks and days, we have been made aware of the painful and tragic truth of what has happened at residential schools. We were informed of the finding of 215 unmarked graves in Kamloops and more recently about the 751 unmarked graves found at the Marieval Residential School in Saskatchewan. In the weeks and months to come the locations of more unmarked graves will be identified. We grieve for the multiple losses experienced by members of our Indigenous communities. Losses not only of pre-
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cious lives but of language and culture. For survivors of the residential schools there is a trauma that is part of their lives and the lives of generations that follow. Changing laws to ensure culturally safe practices may seem like a daunting task, but we need to begin speaking with policy makers, teachers of healthcare professionals, healthcare executives, and with members of the law profession in order to make this change. Trauma that has taken a toll on their physical and emotional well-being. As healthcare professionals it may feel overwhelming thinking about what to do in response to the history
and tragedies experienced by our Indigenous peoples. I believe that most of us in healthcare want to make a difference to the healing and reconciliation that is so necessary. The best starting point is to review the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In the “Call to Action” there are recommendations that address “health.” We can become familiar with those recommendations and share them with those in our spheres of influence. If in partnership with Indigenous people we meaningfully begin addressing the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we will be healers
who provide safe and inclusive care that is culturally safe for all involved. In this context we are rightfully being asked to participate in fulfilling reconciliation with our Indigenous peoples, acknowledge racism, and to meaningfully integrate diversity and inclusion into healthcare. These are positive and important goals to strive towards if we want to provide a just health-care system and ensure that our practices are culturally safe. To be more inclusive and address injustices, our health laws (which affect our practice) need to adapt to current knowledge and societal changes: Specifically, Ontario’s Health Care Consent www.hospitalnews.com
