Ahead of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, VPSA’s Engaging Physicians in Indigenous Cultural (EPIC) Safety Task Group is highlighting one iCON–VCH Indigenous Health Round each week. These free, physician-focused webinars support health-care professionals in ongoing learning about how to provide culturally safe care for Indigenous patients, families, and communities. Indigenous Health Rounds are accredited by UBC Continuing Professional Development (UBC CPD), allowing participating physicians to earn CPD credits.
Unlearning & Undoing White Supremacy and Indigenous-Specific Racism
In an Indigenous Health Round hosted on Monday, March 16, 2026, Dr. Danièle Behn Smith, Deputy Provincial Health Officer for Indigenous Health at BC Office of the Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Kate Jongbloed, Senior Scientist at the BC Centre for Disease Control, and Kirsten White, Registered Nurse, shared what they have learned from building anti-racism practices into the BC Office of the Provincial Health Officer’s daily work.
Guided by their team’s research, they shared three frameworks and two metaphors, including a net metaphor and a birch bark and copper pot metaphor. They explored how bias can shape clinical decisions even without a conscious belief in racial superiority. They discussed the case of a First Nations patient whose condition seriously declined after warning signs were not acted upon. The speakers described this as an example of ‘deviation from protocol,’ where stereotypes can influence whether a patient’s symptoms are taken seriously, even without an intention to cause harm.
The speakers encourage health-care providers to:
- Watch for situations where a patient’s symptoms or concerns may be receiving less attention than required, and consider whether assumptions about a patient may be playing a role.
- Review documents, policies, and everyday clinical decisions for language that treats Indigenous identity itself as a “risk factor,” rather than addressing the impacts of colonial policy and racism.
- Expect discomfort and recognize it as part of growth rather than a sign of doing something wrong.
- When mistakes occur, acknowledge their impact and focus on changing course moving forward.
The round also highlighted the Office of the Provincial Health Officer’s internal work, including an “Unlearning Club,” where staff spend more than a year engaging with readings and discussions led by Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour, as well as a document review checklist that helps identify common biases in written materials.
The longstanding effects of dynamics remain present in health care today, but change is happening through honest reflection, consistent practice, and organizations willing to apply the same scrutiny to themselves that they apply to others.
Join the next Indigenous Health Round on September 29, 2026
The next iCON–VCH Indigenous Health Round, titled “A Developmental Approach to Working with Trauma: A Deeper Reflection on Indigenous Knowledge and Healthy Co-regulation,” will be held on September 29, 2026 from 12:00 – 1:30 PM PCT on Zoom featuring Dr. Alanaise Ferguson.
Building on Indigenous Intellectual Frameworks (Yellowhorse-Braveheart, 1998) on healing from the impacts of toxic stress induced by intergenerational trauma, participants will explore:
- Practical ways to apply these frameworks to our own experiences of stress induced by our work
- How to recognize the importance of Indigenous cultural practices for healthy self-regulation
- How to relate to Indigenous knowledge for the benefit of working with people impacted by intergenerational trauma and participate in healthy intergroup relations.
Register here for this session.
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